


These Are the Paths You Have Walked

by yikesontwobikes



Category: Persona 5
Genre: "New Game Plus" Akechi, Akechi remembers the last run of the game, Akira Kurusu and Ren Amamiya are the same person, Akira breaks the fourth wall, Eventual Shuake, I promise we'll get there eventually, It's real wild card hours up in here, M/M, New Game Plus Akira, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, Something funky's going on with the Velvet Room, Two narrators, persona 5 royal spoilers, some angst some fluff you know how it is, some chatfic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:07:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 85
Words: 149,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24514351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yikesontwobikes/pseuds/yikesontwobikes
Summary: Akechi shouldn't be here. He shouldn't remember these things.Akira should be here. It's a game he's forced to play by the gods, anyway. Who says he shouldn't play it again without his prior knowledge?A fic where Akechi's memories carry over into NG+This entire fic is a Royal spoiler, as it is the NG+ of Royal. You have been warned.On indefinite hiatus.
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren, Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist, Sumire Yoshizawa/Persona 5 Protagonist (Mentioned)
Comments: 1057
Kudos: 2214





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, thanks for making the choice to try this fic out!

Akechi is forced awake by the rude, blaring sounds of his alarm, and the sunlight in his eyes. He scrubs his eyes, but refuses to get out of bed for a couple more minutes. The desperation to be lazy for once is not a feeling unfamiliar to him. But it is really too bright in this room. He really should get those black out curtains he’s been eyeing-

Something clicks in his brain, and he leaps out of bed. He isn’t supposed to be here. He hasn’t been in this room since that day Shido ordered him to kill the Phantom Thieves in his own palace. He isn’t even supposed to be _alive._ That was the whole point of stopping Maruki’s disgusting reality, wasn’t it? Everything would go back to normal, the Thieves would have no more need to exist, and he’d be _dead_. He would have died in that boiler room, shot in the stomach by Shido’s distorted cognition of him. Case closed, the curtain falling on his pathetic existence. So why is he here now?

Perhaps he should text Ren. He infuriatingly seems to know what to do when these strange things happen. Grabbing for his phone with bleary eyes, he takes a short glance at the time. It’s 5:03 in the morning, just like always. Could it really be considered “always” though, when he’d been “dead” and living out of various motels during the Maruki mission? When that had happened, he’d allowed himself an extra hour of sleep, for once in his life. He wasn’t sure how much that had helped his disposition, as Ryuji was constantly giving him a silent look asking him who had pissed in his cereal that morning. He knew the Thieves, other than Ren, didn’t care for him in the slightest. But their pitying looks still drove him nuts. 

He taps on his phone’s chat app, expecting his past conversations with Ren and the rest of the Phantom Thieves to pop up at the top of his recents list. However, to his mild surprise and growing dismay, Shido’s encrypted chat is there. It simply states, “New orders. Call me immediately.”

Akechi shakes his head in disgust. What could that bastard want now? And how was he back in his clutches? The Phantom Thieves had changed his heart, and he should be rotting in jail. And yet here he was, texting him like Akechi was still his sweet little assasination puppet. 

Akechi checks the time on his phone once again. _5:07 am._ His eyes catch something though. Under the time, it reads “April 9th, 20XX.”

He stares in shock momentarily. Was this Maruki’s final revenge for not accepting his offer? The man had bent reality to his own whims. It wouldn’t be surprising, especially since the man seemed to have limitless spirit. Maruki evolving his persona into Adam Kadmon didn’t feel like his last card. Akechi rubs the rest of the sleep from his eyes, feeling uncomfortably awake now. He supposes he should answer to Shido’s demands, for now. Perhaps if he did exactly as he had to this time, he would stay dead. Or, he could watch Shido’s downfall himself, if he played his cards right. But he had read enough science fiction novels during his younger years that he knows that he shouldn’t mess with time, if this was truly what he thought it was. 

But for now, he needs to call him and get it over with. As expected, Shido doesn’t pick up the first time. Another manipulation tactic of his. The second time, Shido’s voice crawls out of the phone. 

“Haven’t I told you not to call me before 6?” Shido says, clearly annoyed. Akechi declines to say anything about Shido’s comment about “calling him immediately.” That’s a headache and a verbal lashing he doesn’t want to deal with right now. He simply shifts his voice into the one he only reserves for talk shows.

“What are the new orders, sir?” He feels disgusted with himself. As he waits for Shido’s next words, he rubs his temples, trying to remember what’s so important about April 9th. 

“Change of plans regarding the target,” Shido rattles off a name that’s familiar to him.

“And what is this man’s connection to the previous one?” Akechi remembers now. Tomorrow a train conductor would be having a mental shutdown, causing a derailment. Shido confirms his memories, before telling him that “you know what to do” before abruptly ending the call. Akechi puts his phone back on the nightstand, and walks out of the room.

On the way to the bathroom, he reaches out into the back of his mind to see what personas he has. Unsurprisingly, Loki and Robin Hood call back to him. At least he has that going for him, if this universe is still the same. Having Hereward was nice, but he’s not sure if Loki’s abilities remained in it. He can’t continue his master plan without the very abilities that made Shido value him so much, after all. And perhaps a new master plan of his is needed now, with all the new knowledge he gained the first time around. 

Walking into the bathroom, he stares at his reflection in the mirror briefly as he goes by. His face isn’t as hard as he remembers it being during Maruki’s palace. _So it seems only my mind has remained_ , he thinks. Perhaps that’s why he no longer has Ren’s contact in his phone, or the napkin he had written his number on that he had left tucked under some books. 

He splashes his face with water from the sink. His mind is still mulling over the current date. Other than it being the day he does what Shido told him to, there’s still something important that happens. He just can’t seem to remember. Something about Ren, most likely. The Kamoshida incident had happened relatively close to April 9th. Whatever. Akechi had no way to contact him currently. Unless he decided to make an early visit to Leblanc, he’d have to make do with meeting Ren when he did the first time around.

As he steps into the shower, he remembers that day. If only he hadn’t been so stupid, and overheard that infernal talking cat. The only good thing that had come out of that time was Ren’s phone number. Even then, he had tried, really tried to keep his distance from the leader of the Phantom Thieves. But something about that man was so weirdly intriguing. 

Akechi lightly bangs his head against the shower wall. Why was he getting sentimental over all of it now? He couldn’t drop his guard. If Shido, if anyone suspected anything, he wouldn’t be able to meet up with the Phantom Thieves and Ren again, let alone take down Shido. 

There he goes thinking about Ren again. He firmly twists the shower to its coldest, and forces himself to not jump back from the cold water. He stands under the cold stream for a few seconds, before shutting it off and stepping out. Grabbing a towel, he dries off his hair before hanging it back up. He supposes he should go back to his usual routine. At this time, he’s somewhat thankful that his stuff didn’t somehow carry over from that previous time. If he had to figure out his schedule based on vague messages from Shido he’d be absolutely fucked. 

It’s a Saturday, so he gets dressed fairly quickly, before grabbing his stuff for school. He’d swing by the Metaverse in the afternoon, and complete his task. Thinking back to all his escapades in Mementos, he’s surprised he didn’t manage to run into the Thieves once while they were active. 

There he goes again, thinking about those damn Phantom Thieves. He finishes collecting his stuff, and storms out his door. For now, he’ll just have to wait. 

And maybe one cup of Leblanc’s coffee wouldn’t hurt. 


	2. Chapter 2

Akira jerks awake on the train. The pleasant monotone voice over the intercom announces Shibuya as the next stop, and Akira smirks slightly. Last time he had done this, he had no idea about all the strange things that were going to happen to him and his friends. Shooting a god in the face not once, but twice certainly hadn’t been his plan for second year. The Phantom Thieves also hadn’t been a mission of his until he met Ryuji and Morgana and saw what Kamoshida was doing. 

Akira adjusts his glasses and shifts his bag, which feels too light without Morgana’s presence. He had checked his stuff prior to leaving for Tokyo, and it seemed like all of his teammate’s equipment and some other items had carried over with him. Sumire’s gift from Valentine’s Day also was among those things.

Sumire…

If this “game” he was forced to participate in by Yaldabaoth had truly reset, she would once again think that she was Kasumi. And all his friends would be once again stuck in the positions that he had saved them from. Lavenza’s words had always stuck with him throughout the last journey through this game.

“ _This is truly an unjust game,_ ” her butterfly form had said, “ _your chances of winning are almost none._ ” It wasn’t unjust just for him. Masayoshi Shido’s false accusations, the constant suspicion and criminal accusations towards the Phantom Thieves, his time spent in the underground interrogation room were all unjust for sure, but what about the things that his friends had gone through? Those were all unjust too.

Ryuji’s fall from grace at Kamoshida’s hands. Ann’s harassment and manipulation by Kamoshida in order for her to protect Shiho. Yusuke’s entire upbringing with Madarame. Makoto just wanting to make things more just, but held down by those around her. Futaba having to experience such unnecessary trauma from Shido’s goons. Haru having to put up with her fiance and watching the death of her father on live TV. Sumire having Maruki’s wool over her eyes the longest, forcing her to live in a delusion. And Akechi. 

The sound of the doors opening yanks Akira out of his thoughts. He snatches up his bag, and hurries out the door of the subway into Shibuya station. It’s as busy as he remembers it being. He elbows his way through the crowd up the escalator, but once he’s out of the ticket gate the crowd disperses. 

Taking a moment before finding the Ginza line, he looks around the station. Everything is exactly as he remembers, down to where he first met Ann and where Yusuke usually stood. It’s odd not seeing him there now, overhearing him mumble about his next art piece. As he steps out of the station, he feels the same quiet thrum of power he felt this same day so long ago. He takes a quick glance at his phone, watching the Metaverse icon take over its small screen. The world once again creeps to a halt, and Arsene’s blue flames lick up from the center of the crosswalk. After a brief moment of acknowledgement, Arsene vanishes, and the world resumes to normal. He shakes his head. The world is truly exactly as it once was. Akira hears the quiet murmur of Arsene, that power not fully materialized. He allows himself to enjoy not having 12 personas all murmuring in his head momentarily. He does feel a little lonely, but it was better than those nights where they just wouldn't shut up.

Akira swiftly moves on to the gates of the Ginza line, leaving Arsene for later. He beeps his train card, and gets in the back of the line. The thought of trains starts creeping into his mind. Wasn’t there something important that happened regarding trains tomorrow? He knows that he would be late for his first day of school, but that would be the day after tomorrow. The train pulls up to the station platform, and he gets on. As he slumps against the wall and the side of the seat, the small train screen above the door catches his eye. It shows a talk show on one screen next to the screen displaying the news. 

On that screen is a very familiar mop of brown hair, sitting in a too-perfectly composed manner. It feels oddly bittersweet seeing him like this, once again under Shido’s thumb. Akira knows now that the mask of the perfect Detective Prince is just one of many that Akechi wears. Still, it gives him a strange feeling, almost nostalgic to the time during Sae’s palace. Back before Akechi dropped his mask, showed them “who he really was.” That he was the Black Mask behind all the mental shutdowns.

_Mental shutdowns…_

That’s right. Tomorrow a train conductor would have that mental shutdown, causing a derailment and many injuries. This would cause Sojiro to not be able to open the cafe that day with how late they got home. Of course, this was Akechi’s doing. That hit was ordered by one of Shido’s lackeys. One of the Shadow-cognition amalgamations had said that, after all. Shido’s palace feels frighteningly distant to Akira, despite how recently it had happened. It’s likely a side effect of Maruki’s distorted reality, messing with his sense of time. Getting kicked back to a reality where you were in prison for a month does not do nice things to the brain. 

Akira wonders if maybe this time around, he shouldn’t help Maruki with his research. Then maybe Maruki wouldn’t go god mode. But Maruki is a pretty smart guy, and with or without Akira, he’ll figure out how to use the Metaverse eventually. And maybe when he does, the Phantom Thieves won’t be there to stop him. Their efforts to defeat Yaldabaoth would be for naught, and humanity would once again be under someone’s thumb. The Phantom Thieves wouldn’t be able to save anyone in the end. Akechi would be right. That would be how his justice would end. But for now, he has to focus on what’s in front of him.

The monotone voice of the train drawls that Yongen-Jaya is the next stop. Akira’s happy that he’ll get to see Sojiro again. Leblanc is one of the only places he’s felt at home, and that dusty attic seems to be the only place he can sleep at night. It smelled like dust, curry, and wet cat, but it was his. Where he got up to such hijinks as going to bed when his cat told him and making molotovs. 

As Akira makes a beeline to the Sakura household, he overhears the quiet chatter of the neighborhood. The mom and the girl with her dog, the man standing in the alleyway. As he stands by the door, the same delivery man tells him that Sakura-san’s in his cafe. Akira walks back, and raps lightly on the door of Leblanc, before coming in. It's the overwhelming sense and smell of home that assaults him as he steps in, the spicy scent of curry mixing with the bitter coffee smell permeating every inch of the tiny cafe. Sojiro Sakura stands behind the counter, idly running his hands over some of the coffee grinders. Sojiro's lost in thought again, probably wondering if whatever he ordered for Futaba got delivered. Two of his elderly regulars chatter in the corner. And someone with their hood up sits at the counter. They weren’t here last time. No one other than Akechi ever sat in that spot. 

“Huh, so you’re the guy. They did say that was happening today,” Sojiro says. The person at the counter flinches momentarily. Akira gives a small wave as the person suddenly stands up, gives a nod of thanks to Sojiro, and shoves their way past Akira. As the mystery man slides past Akira, his red eyes momentarily lock with Akira’s steel gray ones. 

There’s no doubt that it was Akechi. Akira wants to call out to him, but he’s already ran out of Leblanc, and down the street out of sight. But why was he there? And why did he run so quickly? And as soon as he's about to turn around, Sojiro is already herding him upstairs. 


	3. Chapter 3

Akechi hurries down the alleyway leading to Leblanc. He had a feeling that him and Ren would probably end up running into each other somehow. However, he did kind of bring it on himself. How could he have forgotten that the other significant thing that happened today was that Ren moved to Tokyo? _Stupid, worthless, useless_ , he chastises to himself. How could he forget such an important detail? How? For as much investigation he did into Ren’s life, how could he? He shouldn’t have taken the gamble. 

He just wanted one cup of coffee after school before he had to go into the Metaverse. Not to get drawn into the inevitable cat and mouse game that he and Ren play. And now that Ren’s seen him, he’s going to get curious. Hopefully, Ren doesn’t remember the past. Hopefully, Ren will just think that the boy sitting on the counter was a bit odd for wearing a hood inside. Akechi normally didn’t wear such casual clothes, so usually when he dressed down like this nobody recognized him. He just looked like a regular person. But Ren had stared him dead in the face. He had spent enough time with Ren to figure out all the small quirks in his relatively neutral expression. Ren knew who he was. _Maybe he only recognized you cause he saw you on TV or something!_ some crazed part of his mind tries to yell. He forcefully shoves it aside. He knows Ren well enough to understand when he’s truly surprised. 

Akechi continues to rack his brain. Now he’s starting to regret not having at least some of his things carry over. Could he at least have gotten one of his notebooks or a calendar? His recall abilities are superb, but not enough to track the movements of a thief from before Shido began taking an interest into the whole Phantom Thieves situation. But, Akechi had another issue to worry about. He knew that Ren had awakened to his powers at some point between now and a few days before Kamoshida’s breakdown, and he had formed the initial group of Phantom Thieves. He knew that Ren had access to Mementos. He’d been there with him for God’s sake! He’d seen how much more easily the Thieves moved around in there with Morgana’s bus form, and how they used it for their smaller scale change of heart missions. 

If Ren truly remembered, Akechi wouldn’t put it past him to go stake out Mementos himself. He had already almost ran into their stakeout when that little schism between the cat and the Thieves had happened. That bastard’s savior complex ran deep. He just doesn't know when to give it up, and let go of a person. He would probably be thinking right now, “well, if Akechi’s acting different, he must know something’s up. I’ve never seen him wearing anything but so-called grandpa clothes.” Then, Ren would put the pieces together. Ren would trek down to Mementos himself, and try something funny. Maybe Akechi’s just overthinking things. Maybe Ren really doesn’t remember, and the shock was just from how quickly Akechi went past him. 

But that damn look in his eyes. Akechi shakes his head to himself, and slinks into Yongen-Jaya station. Ren has made no attempt to follow him. He’d overheard what happened when Ren had heard Kamoshida calling Ann, and how Ren had oh so valiantly and heroically went after her and comforted her. Akechi’s just overthinking things. He yanks his hood back up over his head, and gets on the train. He doesn’t want anyone seeing the perfect “Detective Prince” with such a strained expression on his face. It would reflect poorly on him, and then people might start thinking something’s up. His facade never once cracked in public last time. He wouldn’t crack this time either. All he needed to do was calm down, and get the job done. 

He lets himself zone out as the train makes its way to Shibuya station, listening to the rhythmic clacking. He doesn’t let himself think about what’s happening tomorrow, or about Shido, or about Ren. The voices of Robin Hood and Loki crawl through his brain, with Loki drowning out Robin’s quiet murmuring. He’s starting to miss Hereward’s comfortable silence, who only made noise when Akechi reached out to him. How did he even put up with them for two and a half years? 

The doors slide open, and Akechi automatically walks out. Still no sign of Ren. Why is he still worrying about Ren? If he hadn’t come by now, he probably doesn’t remember a thing. 

Akechi walks out of the train station and easily slides into the Metaverse. Maruki’s weird tentacles are no longer pulsating on the ceiling of Mementos. The blood red walls and the freezing cold are just as he remembers from before Maruki’s meddling. Perhaps he was truly defeated, after all. Maybe this was just some odd fluke in the universe that Akechi was trapped in, where Maruki had figured out how to rewind time and to put people into their own personal hell, or just some sort of purgatory. If the Metaverse was possible, who’s there to say that other realities can’t exist? Especially those created by misguided therapists.

He needs to stop getting caught up in his thoughts. Completing what needs to be done is all he should be thinking about. Thankfully, Loki curls around him, waiting to be let loose. Akechi checks his map of Mementos, locates his target, and pushes past the turnstiles. The ground between the train tracks is simultaneously rocky and squishy, like always. Shadows scramble away from him as he walks past, all of them making that annoying crying noise. He might end up coming back to them if taking out his target isn’t enough stress relief. Walking through the endless train tracks is mind numbing, but it's a welcome relief from his constant overthinking. 

Eventually, he finds the swirling red vortex that leads to the Shadow he was looking for. This one isn’t cocky, like some of the other targets Shido’s asked him to give mental shut downs to. He’s just sad looking. There’s a slump in his shoulders, and no light in his eyes. If the news had bothered to look into this guy’s life, they could have just said that it was a suicide attempt. A very, very stupid way to go out, but still an option for a train conductor. 

“My apologies,” is all Akechi says as Loki screams behind him, its Berserk ability rippling through the air. Akechi swiftly turns his back on the shadow and walks out. He felt nothing from that- not the hollow satisfaction he felt the first time he did it, not the crazed delight he felt from ripping down Shadows in Maruki’s laboratory. Absolutely nothing. He tries attacking a few of the wandering Shadows. Still nothing. This truly was purgatory. First meeting Ren, and then one of the only ways he ever felt anything crumbling in front of him. 

Akechi checks the time. Somehow, he’s been in here until almost midnight. Had he really gotten that carried away? He supposes that it makes sense that it would take him a long time, as he wasn’t getting carted around in the Morgana bus anymore. He also misses having others to fight the Shadows with, even if he tries to deny it. Exhaustion weighs him down, and he skulks past the turnstiles once again. As he reaches the exit, he hears the squeal of an iron door opening and shutting. A soft blue light blinks into existence, before immediately fading. 

Akechi thinks he’s really gone mad.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi y'all! Thanks again for reading this. In this chapter in the last chapter, I've started building Akechi and Akira's characters a little bit more. If Akechi feels a bit OOC, it's because I'm still trying to work out how to have third semester snarky Akechi with all of his knowledge navigate a situation he has regrets about even if he doesn't realize it yet ;). I also just really like empty Akechi. Akira also has a little bit of snark to him, as I didn't want to write him with Door-kun levels of apathy. I also wanted him to have a bit of panic about the situation, but nowhere to the level that Akechi does. But we'll see what happens :).

Akira sneezes. It really is dusty in here, isn’t it. The old piles of things and boxes are strewn around the attic once again. Cleaning all this stuff up sucked the last time, and it isn’t gonna be any more fun now. Well, there was that one little problem that he could spend his time thinking about. But he’ll save that thought for when Sojiro stops talking. He’s giving him the same speech he’s heard a thousand times before. Stay out of trouble, don’t get arrested again, know that your freedom could be taken away at any time. Oh, if only Sojiro knew what was going to happen. Sojiro hands him his probation diary, and walks downstairs. As soon as Akira hears the familiar clinks of Sojiro washing up downstairs, he throws himself into cleaning up the place. 

_ What was Akechi doing here today? _ He wonders as he shifts a box into its new home on the shelf. The very first time he had met Akechi last time was at the TV studio, where he overheard Morgana talking about pancakes. The first time Akechi even bothered coming to Leblanc was a while after that. Was it after Futaba’s palace? Akira couldn't remember. But it was definitely not on the very first day he got here. And he certainly wasn’t wearing casual clothes when he had first visited. Hell, Akira doesn’t think he’s ever seen Akechi in anything less formal than business casual, let alone a hoodie and track pants. Akira could be terribly mistaken, and the guy sitting at the counter wasn’t Akechi, just someone who was the same height, build, face, and hair color as Akechi. But that’s a stupid thought. Akira had seen every customer that Leblanc regularly served, and it was rare to see a new face. The only newcomers that he could think of were Sae and Akechi, and both had their correct time to show up. 

So why was Akechi here now? Akechi shouldn’t even know about Leblanc at this point. That expression on his face when he was trying to run out of the coffee shop was very telling. Same with the poor attempt at a disguise, and the obvious anxiousness in the air around him. Akechi knows something’s up. For him to figure out that within one day isn’t surprising, knowing him. But how did he know something was up? Supposedly, this world was reset back to zero, except for Akira’s own knowledge and items alone. Was this another one of Yaldabaoth’s little experiments? Only time would tell. If the Igor he would meet tonight was the fake, he might be able to ask him. Akira doubts he’d get a straight answer from him. 

Akira drops one of the boxes on his thumb. It takes him some effort to not shout, either from the pain or the surprise. He doesn’t want Sojiro coming up here thinking he’s causing a ruckus. Sojiro would probably ask him why he wasn’t paying enough attention, and what would he be able to say in response?  _ Well golly gee Boss, it seems like the one guy I regret not being able to help knows more than he should. _ Sojiro would then probably throw him out for such crazy talk. Maybe he could go live in Mementos if that happened, and then get eaten by a Shadow or something. Or Akechi would find him and ask him what the hell is going on. 

Trying to intercept Akechi would be an interesting way to get back into contact with him before meeting him at the TV studio. There’s too many issues with that plan, though. For one, Morgana, Ryuji, and Ann likely wouldn’t have the time to spend sitting there with him. Secondly, he can’t remember any other major shutdown incidents that happened after the one happening tomorrow. Aside from Okumura, of course, but trying to avoid that one is another can of worms. He’d already started talking to Akechi at that point anyway. Knowing Akechi, he’d probably cross paths with him again, intentionally or not. Akechi did seem like he didn’t want Akira to see him though. Akira wonders what’s up with that. Did he think Akira didn’t know what was going on?

Sojiro’s voice snaps him out of his musings.

“Didn’t expect you’d be cleaning. Well, it’s only natural you want your space to be clean.” Akira nods in response, and Sojiro heads back down to close up shop. As soon as he hears the jangle of the bells on the entrance door as it swings shut, Akira sits down on the floor. He takes a deep breath, and tries to neatly arrange his thoughts. The world is once again under the control of Yaldabaoth’s game, and everything should be the same as it once was. However, Akechi seems to remember, and does not seem to be doing so well. Meeting up with Akechi might be a good idea in theory, but in practice, it seems foolish. 

With his thoughts arranged, he stands back up. He goes through the small box of clothes shoved into the shelf, finds his sleeping ones, and changes. As he’s about to lay down for the night, the phone downstairs starts ringing. He sighs. Seems like he doesn’t get any time to think without interruptions. He walks downstairs and picks up the phone. Sojiro tells him that he forgot to flip the sign, as expected, and then hangs up. Akira does as he’s told, and then goes back upstairs. He throws himself on the bed as carefully as he can, and yanks the blanket over himself. He lets the cool night air calm him, and he slowly drifts off to sleep

And is immediately woken up by the discordant clanging of chains and soft piano accompanying a singer. At least this time, he knows what’s coming. The hard slab at his back is still uncomfortable, but at least he has the sense to get up quickly. As he gets up, he stares into the Velvet Room. The door between him and Igor is once again shut, and Caroline and Justine stand at guard in front of it. Other than that, everything is just as he remembered it being the last time he was in here. The old prison uniform is scratchy and gross, and Akira wishes he could be back in his Metaverse clothes. Akira doesn’t get up fast enough for Caroline’s liking, and she slams her baton into the door’s bars. 

“Trickster, welcome to my Velvet Room,” Igor’s gravelly voice rings out throughout the room. Seems like the real Igor is trapped away once again. Caroline is her usual self, yelling at Akira to stand up straight and pay attention. Akira straightens, but zones out. All Igor is doing is introducing him to the room, anyway. He jerks back into reality once more when Caroline notices him staring at the bars a little too intently. Igor laughs.

“This is quite the surprise. The state of this room reflects the state of your own heart, after all.” Igor goes back into his monologue again, calling Akira a prisoner of fate. No shit. It seemed like gods liked sticking their noses into his business. Igor keeps talking, and introduces Caroline and Justine to him properly. Even though they were both Lavenza, he had missed seeing the two of them interact with each other. Caroline’s bold brashness and Justine’s subdued warnings are a welcome relief from the odd situation outside the Velvet Room.

Just as Caroline is about to order him to go to sleep, a bright blue glow blinks in and out of existence from one of the other cells. Akira certainly hasn’t seen that before. He hopes that it’s just some weird quirk in the lighting, and he sits back down on his slab, before laying down and shutting his eyes.

What was going on here? 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we see the Pancake Prince become the Panicake Prince.

Akechi tries to walk as naturally as he possibly can out of the Metaverse. Being a shifty-looking boy in a hoodie randomly appearing in the middle of Shibuya Station Square at some absurdly late hour was anything but natural, however. Thankfully, only a few stragglers stumble around the area, and none of the police posted there seem to be paying attention. His phone is a different story. Shido’s texted and called him with every burner phone he has, each message with rising intensity. Akechi casually walks over to the entrance for the Ginza line. It won’t kill Shido if he has to wait five more minutes. The next train won’t come for another few minutes, so Akechi sits down on one of the hard plastic chairs. He debates whether he should call Shido now. He could call Shido on the train and have the call drop to annoy him, but Akechi decides that’s too much of a headache to deal with. The station’s almost empty anyway. An elderly man is sitting on the other side, too far away to overhear anything important. Akechi braces himself, and hits the call button. 

“Where have you been?” snarls Shido from the other end of the call. 

“Apologies that it took so long. I still do not have adequate transportation in the Metaverse,” is all Akechi says in a neutral tone. Better for Shido to just think he’s being inconvenienced by having to walk everywhere, and not that he spent three hours mindlessly slashing anything around him. Akechi’s half truths worked well enough for people to get off his back. Shido makes a grunt of displeasure after Akechi finishes his sentence, and then hangs up. At least Shido doesn’t sound like he knows something’s up. He still finished his task, and that’s all that matters to Shido. As long as he keeps that Detective Prince facade up and continues to take out Shido’s trash, he’ll be okay. 

Akechi walks into the empty train car, and sits down, leaning his head against the plastic shell at the end of the seats. The post-Metaverse exhaustion is hitting him like a sack of bricks. If he wanted to, he could fall asleep right here. But then some train conductor would come find him, and then that’d get on the news somehow. He just needs to get home. He pulls out his phone and scrolls through it mindlessly, trying to keep his eyes open. When he continues to feel tired, he gets up, and paces back and forth. As he paces, thoughts start creeping into his head. What was that blue light? Was he finally going completely off the deep end? Was this some fucked up dream? And what was up with Ren? Was all of last year some weird prophetic vision? In that case, how would Ren know about him? He needs to talk to Ren. Or not. But something needs to happen. 

If only the public could see me now, he thinks. Their perfect Prince sleep deprived, paranoid, and muttering to himself on an empty train. They’d probably be sympathetic, and he’d get a new rush of fangirls saying that he’s “soooo relatable.” Others would be horrified. If the Thieves were here, they’d probably pity him with those wretched sad looks of theirs. Maybe Ren would force him to talk after the rest of his merry little band had left. Tell him that the Thieves would welcome him with open arms, and that they could help him. Or maybe Ren would just hand him a cup of coffee and stare at him until he finally cracked. Why was it whenever he let his mind run in circles like this he’d always come back to thinking about Ren? 

Miraculously, no one had gotten onto his train car between Shibuya station and his stop. Well, not miraculously. It is after midnight. Anyone outside right now had to be either on a night shift, nuts, or have too much on their mind. Akechi feels like he’s falling into the latter two categories. This could all still be a hallucination before his death produced by his brain. He could get back to his apartment, fall asleep, and never wake up again. 

He shakily walks into his apartment building, the attendant on duty in the lobby fast asleep. The lights are dimmed, and the only sound is the quiet thrum of the air conditioning. He goes to the elevator as silently as he can, presses the up button, and waits. As he waits, he looks at the new floral arrangement set up at the end of the elevator hallway. It’s much tackier than usual, with far too many red and light pink roses crammed into the vase, and many small yellow flowers scattered haphazardly in it. Some plastic, glittery blue butterflies are clipped onto the pot and some of the flowers. Akechi gingerly removes the ones clipped onto the flowers, and clips them onto the vase instead. Just another way to pass the time, as the elevators in his building are notoriously slow. He hopes someone doesn’t come by and undo his work, though. 

The elevator finally slides open, and he steps inside. He just needs to stay awake for a few more minutes, and then maybe this dream will all be over. Oh, he forgot to select his floor. He punches the button, and the elevator begins its slow ascent. Only a few more minutes. He feels like he hasn’t slept in weeks, and he’s not sure if it’s from running around Mementos, or realizing that he might just have to repeat one of the worst times in his life. 

The elevator door dings, and Akechi nearly falls out into the hallway. He can understand now why some people say being tired is just as bad as being drunk. He shuffles down the hallway, and fumbles with getting his key into the door of his apartment. Old habits die hard, and before he walks in he sticks his hand into the mail slot. He pulls out what looks to be all junk mail, but something odd pokes out from the middle. Akechi wants to just collapse in his room, but he almost never gets proper mail. He throws the rest of the mail on the floor, and opens the envelope. Inside is a simple contract sheet. One of Shido’s lackeys might have dropped it in at some point, as the envelope it was in is unmarked. Akechi doesn’t even bother to look over it. If he ends up signing away his soul or something, so be it. He goes to look around his apartment for a pen, and then realizes he could have just looked in his briefcase. He really needs sleep. He grabs the pen, signs the contract, puts it back in the envelope, and puts the envelope into his mail slot. Ignoring the advertisements scattered in the entryway, he heads straight for his room.

He doesn’t even make it out of his street clothes and into something better to sleep in. Nor does he make it fully into bed. He throws himself towards his bed, and ends up with his legs and one of his arms hanging off to the side. It doesn’t matter. He passes out instantly. 

Something yanks him awake. His bed is significantly harder than he remembers it being. Cold blue light and walls surround him, and the sound of a woman singing and piano playing fills the air. A thin layer of fog covers the floor, and it curls around his foot that’s hanging off the side of whatever he’s lying on. 

“It looks as if the inmate has come to, Master,” a girl’s voice says from behind his head. He recognizes it from somewhere, but it’s not quite what he remembers. Akechi slowly sits up. The room is cold, but he’s dripping with sweat. He turns his head. Prison doors line the walls of a circular room, one of which blocks him from leaving the cell he’s trapped in. Two short girls in uniform stand just outside. They’re dressed in a similar blue color to the rest of the room, and remind Akechi of that girl that told him and the Thieves about Maruki. One of them, the one with the two buns, holds a baton, and the other one with the braid holds a small clipboard. 

Akechi gets up, his body not as heavy with exhaustion as it was. His foot catches on something when he tries to move quickly, and to his dismay, finds a heavy ball and chain. He says nothing, and drags himself to the bars. Sitting in the center of the room at a large writing desk is a large nosed man with a strange, wide smile. The man extends his hand. 

“Welcome to my Velvet Room, my dear Trickster,” he says, his voice gravely. 

“I hope you were enjoying your nap,” the girl with the braid says. Akechi continues to say nothing. The girl with two buns notices his silence.

“Have some respect! You’re in our master’s presence!” Akechi stares at her. Only when she slams her baton against the bars does he stand up slightly. 

“He has quite the strong will, doesn’t he,” the man says in that odd distorted voice of his, “but allow me to introduce myself. I am Igor. I wanted to talk about some important matters.” Strong will? What is he talking about? Akechi fell apart last time when the Thieves tried to tell him that he could come back and they could work together to defeat Shido.

“Do you intend to control me? I’m not nice to those who try to do that,” Akechi says. The girl with two buns reaches for her baton once more, but Igor extends his hand slightly, and she stills.

“Our intention is for your rehabilitation to proceed as smoothly as possible. Justine, on your left, and Caroline, on your right, will be of assistance to you.” 

“Why am I here? I don’t need ‘rehabilitation.’”

“Only those who have signed contracts are permitted to enter here.”

So Akechi really did sign his soul away. Guess a lesson here would be to actually read things before you sign them. It wouldn’t be the first time, even though that one was the NDA with Shido. Now, he’s got both a power-hungry crook and some supernatural man with weird kids breathing down his neck. He could manipulate Shido, but he’s not sure about these three. 

“So, what can I do here?” Igor smirks slightly in response. If they're going to try to control him, why not use this place to its full extent. 

“That will all be explained at a later time. It would be improper for you to wake up any later than this,” Caroline and Justine turn around to face Akechi as he says this. Caroline holds out her baton, and Justine hugs her clipboard to her chest.

“Now turn around and go back to sleep!” Caroline says. Akechi complies, turns around, and lays back down on the slab. Without even closing his eyes, he’s back asleep and awake again in his own bed. He rolls over to check his phone. No new messages, nothing strange with the MetaNav. It’s 11 am on April 10th. He checks the news. The train crash has already happened, and more news of the mental shutdowns is spreading. Akechi groans. Looks like he’s gonna have to do all this shit over again. And with how tired he was just from one little Mementos run, working with the Thieves has made him soft with how easy the Metaverse becomes with teammates. 

But maybe it wasn’t so bad. Sure, the only person he could tolerate was Ren, and it was much better with just him. Having their connections also seemed to be extremely convenient. Is he really considering trying to join the Thieves in some capacity? No, he only misses how easy it was. Putting up with them as people was annoying. 

Before dealing with all the nonsense of the Phantom Thieves, he still needs to talk to Ren. Maybe he should try Leblanc again today.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, a super big thank you to all of those who have left kudos and nice comments! You guys make my day, and motivate me to write this fic that was really just a shower thought about what would happen if you squished an Akechi time travel fic and a NG+ fic together.

Akira wakes up to Sojiro’s voice calling him from downstairs. It’s too early, he wants to say. Just five more minutes. Sojiro doesn’t like him enough yet for him to back talk, so Akira gets out of bed. Today’s the day where everything really begins. He wonders what would have happened to his life if any other school had decided to take him in. Considering what he had learned from Igor and Yaldabaoth, he was still just a toy in their game, so he’d probably end up still as some sort of Phantom Thief. Would he be on his own like Akechi if he hadn’t found Morgana? These musings were all for another time, he decides. What matters now is he needs to get his uniform on and go downstairs. 

Sojiro hands him a granola bar as he gets downstairs. Guess Sojiro wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. Akira scarfs it down, and they leave to go to Sojiro’s house to get his car. The walk there is relatively uneventful, and so is the drive to Shujin. 

Once they get there, it’s the usual spiel about how “he’s a criminal” and “he needs to come to understand his actions.” No wonder the first time he did this his mental health was in the toilet for a while. Listening to Kobayakawa and Kawakami rag on him was only the start of it. Akira knows about Kawakami’s current situation and how stressed and tired she is, so he gives her a small pass. But he just smiles and nods at Kobayakawa, for he has nothing nice to say about him. Kawakami gives him his student ID, and they wrap up their conversation. Sojiro gives his thanks, and then they leave. 

As they’re driving back, the news on the car radio begins discussing the mental shutdown incident. Seemed like Akechi was keeping to his schedule, whether he remembered or not. The news on the radio mentions another minor mental shutdown incident, which prompts Sojiro to start talking about “that girl who passed away.” Now Akira realizes, to his horror, that Sojiro’s talking about Kasumi’s death. Hearing about it from him was disturbing enough, but him saying it so casually after Maruki had forced them to watch it was something else. He tries to shove that memory to the back of his mind, and focuses intently on the radio’s blathering. Sojiro complains about the traffic delays.

“Looks like I won’t be able to open the cafe today,” Sojiro says before settling into a comfortable silence. Eventually, they make it home. As expected, Sojiro doesn’t even bother opening Leblanc. He tells Akira to just go inside and get ready for tomorrow. Akira goes back up into his room, and sets some of his stuff out for tomorrow. As he meanders over to his bed to lay down, two things happen. The yellow telephone downstairs starts ringing. 

And a loud thumping noise comes in from outside. Akira gets up quickly, and runs downstairs, the loud banging noise getting louder. Through the paneled window on the door he can see the silhouette of a person standing and knocking on the door. 

“Cafe’s closed!” Akira shouts. He still can’t tell who’s at the door because of the darkness. Akira picks up the phone, keeping his eye on the person knocking. Sojiro tells him that he forgot to flip the sign, and could Akira please do that for him? Thankfully, he doesn’t hear the noise of the person at the door over the receiver. Akira puts the phone down, and strides confidently over to the door. The person stops knocking as he goes to open it. Maybe they’ll go away, now that they see that it isn’t Sojiro coming towards the door. But they don’t move. Akira opens the door. 

“Didn’t I tell you-” An all too familiar face stands there, his expression wracked with worry and quiet anger. 

“Amamiya-kun?” Akechi asks quietly. So he truly did remember. 

“How do you know that name?” Akechi looks disheartened by that statement. Akira backpedals, “Wait, Akechi, that’s not what I meant. Do you remember something?”

“Yes, and I want to know what the fuck is going on here, Ren! Why am I alive? Why is it April 10th? Why?” Akechi is, unsurprisingly, quite mad. Akira sighs, and reaches over to flip the sign to ‘closed’, before inviting Akechi into Leblanc. Akechi sits down in his regular chair, and slumps forward, his head hitting the counter with a  _ whump _ . Akira reaches out to poke his head after Akechi doesn’t move for a good minute and a half, but just before he can, Akechi looks up slightly. His eyes have bags under them, and he’s nowhere near the level of polish that he has in public. After his outburst outside, he's completely deflated and defeated. 

“Do you want some coffee?” Akechi nods his head slightly, before putting his head back on the counter. As Akira grabs beans to prepare, he turns his head to Akechi. “Um, Akechi, by the way. I’m not Ren Amamiya anymore. I mean, I am him, but my name is Akira Kurusu.” Akechi looks up again, and doesn’t seem to fully process the statement. Akira can’t blame him. He doesn't look like he wants to deal with any more bizarre bullshit. 

“Tell me something only Ren Amamiya would know, Kurusu,” Akechi says. Akira initially thinks to talk about the glove, but with how Akechi’s acting he doesn’t think it’s the best thing to bring up. 

“Well, there was that one time we went to the cafe in Kichijoji to try out that cake you wanted,” Akechi nods, but gestures for him to go on. “But when we were there, some of your fans noticed you. So I messed up your hair and put my glasses on you, which made them think you weren’t you.”

“Good enough,” Akechi says. Akira puts Akechi’s coffee next to him, and starts cleaning up. As he turns around to put things away, he can feel Akechi staring at him. Akira isn’t sure if he’s doing it out of suspicion, or if Akechi is so exhausted he’s trying to focus on mundane things to stay awake. Akira folds up the apron he had on, and puts it away, Akechi’s eyes tracking him the whole time. Akira finally sits down next to Akechi.

“Aren’t you going to drink any of your coffee? I promise it’s not bad,” Akechi shakily takes a small sip. 

“It’s passable.” In Goro Akechi language, this meant that it was great, but he wasn’t going to let you know that. The two of them sit in silence for a while, only interrupted by Akechi taking a sip every so often and Akira accidentally bumping his knees against the counter. After 10 minutes of the calm, pressing quiet, Akechi turns to Akira. 

“Are you going to create the Phantom Thieves again?” Akira doesn’t even hesitate to answer. 

“Of course? There’s a lot of people out there who need help. And I don’t think my friends would disagree with me there.” Akechi smirks at Akira’s response.

“I’m not surprised at all. You truly are a good person, Akira Kurusu.”

“Would you like to join us this time?” Akechi looks a little surprised.

“Um, well, we saw how that went last time and disappearing for long amounts of time would notify Shido that I’m up to something.” Akira nods.

“I see. Well, you don’t have to join us in an official way until we officially go to Sae’s palace or something. Maybe you can provide us with info or something. Or not. It’s your call. We’ll be going after Shido in the end, anyway.”

“I guess so. It’s not like I can refuse, anyway. We’ll just get forced back together whether we like it or not.” The room falls silent once again. It’s very, very late. Akechi is now circling the rim of his empty cup with his finger. Akira sits still with his legs crossed, looking off into nowhere. 

“You look like you have something on your mind too, Kurusu,” Akechi says. Akira’s eyes snap back into focus. 

“Do you plan on shooting me this time?” The elephant in the room has finally been noticed. It’s a loaded question. It’s silently pleading with Akechi, hoping that his rebellion against Shido is stronger than ever. 

“Well, at this point since I can’t get away with that plan and we both know that Shido wants me to betray you, I’ll figure out some way to trick Shido. I don’t want to have to see you high as a kite again trying to tell Sae-san to show me a phone.”

“You saw that?”

“I watched the security camera footage at some point. It really was quite funny.” 

“You’re cruel, you know that.”

“Not the first time I've heard it,” Akechi chuckles as he says this, and then yawns and puts his head back on the table. 

“Are you going to be able to get home tonight? No offense, but you look like a trainwreck.”

“That’s a rather ironic choice of words, Kurusu. I’ll find a hotel or suck it up and pay the taxi fee.” 

“I’d offer to let you stay here, but Sojiro still doesn’t trust me in the slightest, and I don’t think he’d like a random boy that shows up on TV sometimes to be randomly in the cafe before opening,” Akira says in an apologetic tone. Akechi doesn’t seem fazed. 

“When does Sojiro get here usually? I can leave before then. I’ll try to not be too loud.”

“Like 5-6 am? I’d say leave at like 4:30 or something.” Akechi makes a grunt of acknowledgement, and makes himself more comfortable on the chair. Akira stares at him for a few seconds before saying, “Akechi, you know you can sleep in the booth or on the couch upstairs, right?” But Akechi’s already dead asleep. Looks like caffeine can’t fix all types of tiredness. Akira supposes he should be at least hospitable, and goes to find a blanket up in the attic. After he finds one that isn’t frighteningly dusty, he tosses it on Akechi and turns the lights off downstairs.

As Akira turns to go back upstairs, he hears Akechi’s quiet voice.

“Hey, Kurusu. One more question. What’s that weird blue prison all about?"


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the shorter chapter today! Tomorrow's is probably going to be longer than usual, so I want a bit more time to work on it, and I was pretty busy. Thank you all again, I deeply appreciate everyone who takes the time to read this :D.

Akechi watches Akira suddenly stop, his hand hovering over the stair’s handrail. Akechi knowing Akira’s previous name hadn’t seemed like it had fazed him, but this is something strange. Akira’s face is twisted into some form of shock and bemusement. 

“Is there something wrong?” Akira looks like he’s still processing Akechi’s last statement. 

“No, there’s nothing exactly wrong. You kind of already have wild card abilities, but you’re getting access to the Velvet Room now?” Akira sits down on the last step of the stairs and puts his head in his hands. “It’s already weird enough that you remember, but now this?” Akechi doesn’t respond for a while, and Akira makes no attempt to run back upstairs. Akira's body looks too tensed up from overthinking. He feels like he’s about to fall asleep when Akira finally sits back up. 

“Can we exchange phone numbers again?” Akira says. Akechi nods and pulls his phone out of his pocket. Akira walks over with his phone in hand. 

“Last time, I remember I was the one who asked about this,” Akechi says, thinking about how he had to wait for Sakamoto and Takamaki to leave Akira so he could talk to him. He had never particularly liked Sakamoto, but Takamaki was nice enough. 

“And I remember you pretty enthusiastically talking about pancakes the day before that,” Akechi scowls at Akira’s remark. If there was one specific Phantom Thief that got on his nerves, it was that cat. Not just for his ego, but because there's only a few more embarrassing ways to accidentally ruin your master plan. 

“I think it’s about time you go to bed,  _ Joker _ .” Akira laughs. And he’s the one who called Akechi cruel. The question about the Velvet Room still hangs heavy in Akechi’s mind. Thankfully, as Akira turns around to walk back upstairs, he stops momentarily. 

“Tell me when you’re free. I want to see you walk into the Velvet Room yourself.”

And with that, Akira’s up the stairs. Akechi’s just about to tuck his head into his arms on the table when he hears a girl’s voice call out to him. _I am thou, thou art I_ , it whispers softly. _Thou hast acquired a new vow._ Was this because of his relationship with Akira? And who could possibly be talking? _It shall become the wings of rebellion that breaketh thy chains of captivity_. Captivity? Well, there was nothing new there. Akechi’s whole life has been one person or another forcing him to abide by their will. _With the birth of the_ ** _Justice_** _persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power…_

What the fuck was that? Akechi wants to get up, to go run into the attic and shout at Akira again, ask him once more what is going on. But he’s just too tired. He first realized that he wasn’t doing too hot once he realized that Akira’s sentimental bullshit was actually getting to him. A proper amount of sleep and all his questions answered is what Akechi needs right now. But the former is all he’s going to get right now, so he closes his eyes, and falls asleep. 

Akechi jerks awake to his phone buzzing in his pocket. It’s Shido, with a list of pre-determined things he wants Akechi to talk about on talk shows. Why at four in the morning, Akechi will never know. Shido has no sense of time or respect for others' time, anyway. Still, Akechi has to silently thank him. Sojiro's kindness doesn't extend to strange boys passed out at his counter when the shop's supposed to be closed. He gets up off the chair, blood returning to his numb legs and arms. That blanket that Akira had given him falls to the floor. Another show of that bastard’s kindness. Akira really can’t resist the urge to help others out, can he? Akechi sighs and shakes his head, and picks it up off the floor. He also grabs a couple of post-it notes and a pen, before trudging upstairs quietly. 

The attic is still as dusty as ever, but it feels a bit empty without all the random knick knacks Akira had had on the shelves. The desk in the corner is still covered too. Akira snores away on his bed. Akechi isn’t sure what he’s supposed to do with the blanket, so he chucks it onto the couch. He plops himself quietly on the floor, and scribbles out a few notes for Akira to read, and then gets back up. Praying that Akira doesn’t wake up, he firmly sticks the post-it notes onto Akira’s face. 

“That’s what you get for being so damn sappy,” Akechi whispers. He turns on his heel, goes downstairs, and walks out of Leblanc. The trains are running again, albeit much more infrequently than at later times. So, he waits again at the train platform. 

At this point, he needs to get home, get some sleep, and wait for Akira to text him.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is brought to you by me having to watch lets plays because I keep forgetting what happens in the tutorial parts of the game. I'm also not going to do indentations anymore, because manually putting them in is annoying. If some kind soul knows how to put in the indents, I'll be eternally grateful.

Akira wakes up to something tickling his face. His eyes are blocked by something bright orange, and he scrambles to get it off. At some point, Akechi must have stuck them on his face. Sojiro certainly wouldn’t have come in here, let alone stuck a post-it note on his face saying “here lies Joker, he died cause he was too nice to me” or “text me asap more weird bullshit happened” or the post-it note of what looked like a rat with Akira’s mask on. Akira sighs. Not surprising that Akechi had pulled something like this. Him being so tired and weirdly open in front of Akira probably wounded his pride at least a little bit. Akechi can’t really shoot all his problems away any more, so it looks like he settled for using post-it notes instead. 

Akira gets out of bed, and changes into his uniform. He delays texting Akechi until he gets downstairs. He puts the rest of his stuff into his school bookbag, and heads down into the cafe. Sojiro has a plate of curry and a cup of coffee waiting for him at the counter. Akira sits down and thanks him, but Sojiro says nothing in return. He looks like he’s got something on his mind, but is choosing not to say it. Akira starts eating, and pulls out his phone. Normally, Sojiro would tell him to put his phone away and focus on eating, but he still has that troubled expression on his face. Well, if Sojiro isn’t gonna say anything about it, he might as well text Akechi back. 

**April 11, 20XX**

**7:14 am**

**KurusuAkira: i liked your rat drawing**

**KurusuAkira: but why did you stick it to my face**

**KurusuAkira: also what “weird bullshit” happened now**

**AkechiGoro: How else would I have made sure that you looked at it?**

**KurusuAkira: fair**

**AkechiGoro: Anyway. I am assuming another part of this “Velvet Room” is hallucinating some girl talking to you about vows.**

**KurusuAkira: …**

**KurusuAkira: well**

**AkechiGoro: Is there something wrong?**

**KurusuAkira: i did hear her talking to me last night too**

**KurusuAkira: seems like this timeline is all weird**

**KurusuAkira: this happened when we met at the TV studio originally**

**KurusuAkira: whats my arcana for you is it fool**

**AkechiGoro: Justice. I’m assuming I have one as well?**

**KurusuAkira: yeah you’re justice for me too**

**KurusuAkira: did you hear this voice the first time you went to the velvet room**

**AkechiGoro: No. Was I supposed to?**

**KurusuAkira: maybe next time when you go in there Igor will form a bond with you**

**KurusuAkira: im going to kamoshida’s palace today with Ryuji and in the next couple days we’re gonna be doing some initial exploring so ill be busy**

**KurusuAkira: but when we’re free you can sneak into the palace or come with me to mementos but in some way that morgana wont figure it out**

**AkechiGoro: Understood.**

Akira finishes up his curry. Sojiro still seems oddly lost in thought until he hears the scrape of Akira pushing his plate away from him. 

“Stay out of trouble, you know,” is all Sojiro says as Akira walks out the door. Akira feels like he’s forgetting something, but considering all the strange changes that had happened recently, it’s probably just stress. But the only thing he needs to worry about today is getting to the Metaverse with Ryuji.

Luckily, as he stands watching Ann and Kamoshida drive away, Ryuji walks up to him. It’s hard to resist yelling for him, or giving him a friendly smack on the back. Ann hadn’t given any indication that she remembered, and Ryuji certainly doesn’t either. 

“Damn that perv,” Ryuji grumbles. Akira hears the quiet beep of the MetaNav. Ryuji catches Akira staring at him. In this moment, Akira is missing that happy-go-lucky Ryuji he holds near and dear very much. 

“You gonna sell me out to Kamoshida?” Ryuji says. Akira shrugs his shoulders and feigns ignorance. He definitely doesn’t have the slightest idea who Kamoshida, abuser of students, god in the eyes of the teaching staff, is. 

“You.. don’t know who Kamoshida is? Aren’t you from Shujin?” Ryuji’s surprised. Good. Ryuji would be the one of the angriest Phantom Thieves if he knew he was going through this whole year again. Thinking about that, Akira’s surprised that Akechi hasn’t gone into a screaming rage at least once yet. Maybe Akechi’s just too tired right now, or come to some sort of weird acceptance. 

“Sorry, I’m a transfer student,” Akira says.

“Oh, so that’s why,” Ryuji lowers his voice, “well, I’ll let you in on something. He thinks he can go around and do whatever the hell he wants, like he’s some king of a castle.” The MetaNav gives its final beep, and its quiet voice states that it is beginning navigation. Ryuji moves his hand, probably to wave Akira towards the school, and before he can say anything, he brings his hand up to his face, which is contorted slightly in pain. 

“Ugh, I feel light headed. C’mon, let’s get to school.” Akira steels himself for walking directly into Kamoshida’s castle. He never particularly enjoyed many of the Palaces, but if he had to pick one to be his least favorite, it would first be Okumura’s, and then it would be Kamoshida’s. Kamoshida’s palace made his skin crawl, and all the gross, hyper-sexual stuff didn’t help. Or having to see Kamoshida in a thong again. Oh dear lord he had to see Kamoshida in a thong again. 

“Yo, uh, transfer student, you ain’t looking so good.”

“It’s fine. I’m Akira Kurusu, by the way.”  
“Ryuji Sakamoto.”

They turn the corner to walk to Shujin, and to Ryuji’s blatant surprise and Akira’s mild nostalgia, Kamoshida’s Palace waits for them. It looks as disgusting as it did last time. Ryuji’s eyes are filled with panic. 

“What on earth..?” Ryuji runs in front of Akira as he says this, “Ya think we should just go in and ask?” Akira nods in response, and follows Ryuji up the drawbridge into the main castle area. As they enter the main hall area, Ryuji’s confusion grows. He desperately wants to tell Ryuji everything about this place, but he’ll think Akira is spouting nonsense and then what would happen to the Phantom Thieves? So, Akira just gives non-answers or agrees with Ryuji’s panicked statements. When the first Shadow finally shows up, Akira sorely misses having his personas. At least he won’t have to wait long at all. As he and Ryuji miserably fail at running away, more Shadows surround them and drag them off. 

Akira and Ryuji sit for a while in the prison cell. Well, Ryuji is pacing around, occasionally muttering things in an angry tone. Every so often, a scream echoes throughout the dungeon. Ryuji looks more and more scared each time it happens. 

“We gotta find a way out of here,” Ryuji says after someone screams in agony a fifth time. Akira would prefer to just wait until Kamoshida shows up, but he pokes around the cell with Ryuji. After a few minutes of this, the heavy clanking sound of armor grows louder as the Shadows, with Kamoshida in tow, approach the cell. The Shadows rattle off their speech about how he and Ryuji must be executed, before Kamoshida joins in and starts berating Ryuji too. Akira can already feel Arsene itching at the back of his mind, pleading to be released. But it’s not quite time yet. One of the shadows slams its shield into Ryuji. Not yet. Kamoshida throws a punch at Ryuji. Not yet. Ryuji’s in a chokehold with a sword pointed at his head.

“Enough of this!” Akira snarls, catching Shadow Kamoshida’s attention.

“What, you want to die so badly?” Shadows race up to surround Akira, and one of them hits him in the face with its shield. Akira remembers that hurting a lot more than it does this time. But his glasses fall to the ground. Two of the other Shadows pin him up against the wall.

Now, it’s time. He can faintly hear Lavenza’s voice as she flies by him in her butterfly form, but Arsene’s voice drowns her out.  _ I am thou, thou art I.  _ The rushing roar of wind and blue smoke fills him with an odd sort of happiness. It hadn’t been that long since he’d last fought, but the feeling of summoning a persona for the first time was freeing. Akira takes care of the Shadows, and with Ryuji’s quick thinking, they lock Kamoshida in the cell. 

Now it’s time to go find Morgana. They hop across bridges, and hide whenever patrolling Shadows run through the area. After running up a set of stairs, and investigating some of the prisoners in the cages, a boyish voice calls out for them. Morgana stands behind the bars of the prison, begging to be let out. Man, he’s happy to see him again. After a short back and forth, Morgana cuts them a deal that if they let him out, Morgana will lead them out of the Palace. Morgana and Ryuji are already arguing over things, with Ryuji calling Morgana a cat. 

After cutting down a few Shadows, Morgana attempts to explain what’s going on to Ryuji. No signs from him that he remembers anything, either. But Morgana's the type who would wait until him and Akira were alone to ask him about that, if he even asked about it. Morgana does tell Akira that he’s a quick learner, though, which causes Akira momentary panic until he realizes that he said that last time. As they approach the exit vent, Morgana turns to them.

“Do either of you know the person in dark clothes that came through here earlier?” Ryuji looks incredibly confused. 

“Look, cat-”

“I am NOT a cat!”

“I don’t know what the eff this place is, and I’m sure that Kurusu here doesn’t either! We ain’t met anyone here.” Oh, Akechi, you idiot. Of course if you came here, Morgana would probably see him. Akira makes a mental note to tell him about it. 

When Ryuji and Akira leave the palace, the rest of the day proceeds as expected. The truancy cops tell them to go to school, Kawakami gets mad at Akira but lies on his behalf, Akira introduces himself to his class, and Ann calls him a liar. After meeting up with Ryuji on the rooftop, Akira heads back home. 

Sojiro’s fuming mad. 

“Half a day late on your very first day? Care to explain yourself? Do you even understand what probation means?” 

Akira doesn’t try to defend himself, and just nods. 

“I was just going to let it slide, but what was that with that person last night, too? Explain why I shouldn’t kick you out right now!” Oh, that’s right. That’s what he had forgotten. Futaba saw and overheard his whole conversation with Akechi last night. Akira digs his heels into the ground.

“I’m sorry about that. He’s one of my friends that I met online. Has a rough family life, and since I’m here now, I thought it could be a safe place for him to stay for the night.” Akira’s not exactly lying. And going in with that angle was the right decision, as Sojiro’s face softens slightly. He still harrumphs, however. God bless Sojiro for being one of those truly nice people deep down. It seems like Futaba only told Sojiro that there was someone in Leblanc last night, and not who it was or what they were talking about. Akira isn’t sure where Futaba’s cameras are in Leblanc, so he isn’t sure if she even got a good look at Akechi’s face. Akira says another apology, and walks upstairs. His phone buzzes. 

**April 11th, 20XX**

**6:37 pm**

**AkechiGoro: I went into the Velvet Room today. Both that man Igor and those girls formed a “bond” with me, as you called it. I'm still not sure what you do there.**

**KurusuAkira: did you go in through the door in kamoshidas palace**

**AkechiGoro: Sometimes I wonder if you stalk me, Joker.**

**KurusuAkira: morgana saw you**

**AkechiGoro: You’ve got to be kidding me.**

**KurusuAkira: futaba overheard us last night**

**AkechiGoro: Fuck.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *slaps roof of comment section* This bad boy can remind me of so many details.

Akechi had had a reasonably normal day, as reasonable as one’s day could get when you were in the Metaverse for half the time. He hadn’t gone home after sleeping at Leblanc, and instead went to Shujin for some preliminary scoping of Kamoshida’s Palace. Of course, this meant that he was once again horribly tired, but that’s just part of the job description, isn’t it. His own well being seemed to always come last, anyway. Akira hadn’t said anything either about not wanting Akechi to go into the Palace, either. So he decided to go. All had been well, aside from that damn cat apparently spotting him. And, well, there was also the door to the Velvet Room appearing in front of the Palace as he tried to leave. Caroline, or Justine, was it, had rather rudely jumped in front of him and kicked him into the Velvet Room. Despite their stature, they’re both surprisingly strong. 

When he was in the Velvet Room, he noticed a few… interesting details. First off, he hadn’t realized when he was visiting there in his dreams that he was wearing a dingy prison uniform. Secondly, what looked like the silhouette of a guillotine flickered in and out of existence. Third, he still had no idea what he was supposed to do there, and that guillotine didn’t bring much comfort to him. Fourth, there was something deeply unsettling about the man, Igor, sitting in front of him. Akira had told Akechi about how they defeated a false god impersonating a man called Igor, and well, if it was all “back to how it was before”, then the Igor that was sitting in front of him was likely a fake. 

“Welcome back, Trickster” Igor had said as Akechi walked up to the bars. Igor had once again begun explaining the purpose of the Velvet Room to him, but he continued to skirt around the topic of what Akechi could actually do there. Akechi probably had a rather fed up expression when Igor suddenly directed his attention directly towards him. 

“I see that you’re already making your bonds. I wasn’t going to give you this until you proved yourself, but you have already exceeded my expectations.” What was this Igor expecting of him? Time had already proved Akira to be the more gifted of the two, despite Akechi’s anger regarding the things that Akira had and Akechi didn’t. But once more, that girl’s voice rang out in his head, announcing the addition of the Fool. 

“Make use of this when the time comes,” is the last thing Igor said. But unlike when he was visiting the Velvet Room in his sleep, he wasn’t immediately kicked out. 

“What’re you gonna do?” Justine, or was it Caroline, said this. Akechi thought on this for a moment. 

“Tell me about you two,” Akechi had said. The one with the baton got angry once again, and the one with the clipboard sighed. 

“We are simply the wardens of this place, here to oversee your rehabilitation,” Clipboard said. 

“And you better listen to Justine and I!” Caroline said. Akechi put on his best Detective Prince face.

“Is there anything else I could help you with?” Akechi’s going to use this place to its full potential, even if he still doesn’t know what this place is for. Like everyone else who wanted to use him, he always figured out how to get something out of it. 

“Shutting up and-!”

“Wait, Caroline. Perhaps when the time comes… This list I’ve been carrying around seems rather important. It could relate to his rehabilitation.” Caroline walked over to Justine, and looked over her shoulder at the clipboard. 

“Well then, Justine. If you think it’ll help him.” They both turn to face Akechi. “Say, maybe we could cut a deal for when the time comes.”

“What would this deal be?”

“We have not shown you the full potential this place has to offer yet. However, we are willing to make a preemptive deal with you. You promise to complete our tasks, and we will reward you how we see fit.”

“I accept.” The girl in his head was back, and announced the arrival of Strength. Once they wrapped up their conversation, Akechi left the Metaverse. 

Akechi relays this whole story to Akira over a lengthy text monologue. Akechi wanted to call Akira to explain all of this, or go over to Leblanc himself, but Akira brought up the Leblanc bug. Futaba definitely had the talents to hack into their phones and read their text messages, though. It was better than nothing, as Sojiro still wasn’t letting Akira leave Leblanc at night. Hopefully they weren’t targets on Futaba’s radar just yet. She’s too damn crafty for it to be safe for her to know what’s going on with him and Akira. She’d probably end up blackmailing them if she learned too much. So, Akechi will just have to wait for Sojiro to stop being so bothersome. 

**April 11th, 20XX**

**7:23 pm**

**AkechiGoro: Well, that’s what happened today.**

**KurusuAkira: alright**

**KurusuAkira: if morgana asks me again if i know who you are what should i do**

**AkechiGoro: You aren’t even supposed to know who I am at this point.**

**KurusuAkira: right, lying to animals is ok**

**KurusuAkira: also**

**KurusuAkira changed their name to Joker**

**KurusuAkira changed AkechiGoro’s name to Crow**

**Crow: This accomplishes what exactly?**

**Joker: just a bit more anonymous**

**Joker: anyway over the next few days ryuji and ann are gonna be awakening to their personas so ill be in and out of the palace a lot**

**Joker: however my good equipment and personas carried over so once we can do the palace normally i think i can knock it out in a day or so**

**Joker: so if you can find any free time in your busy and important life in the afternoons thats when ill be available**

**Crow: …**

**Crow: Fine.**

**Joker: when did you go to the palace anyway i didnt see you but since morgana did it had to be before i got there**

**Crow: A man can have his secrets.**

**Joker: did you go home**

**Crow: …**

**Joker: Did you go home, Goro Akechi?**

**Crow: No.**

**Joker: i really wish i had morgana to tell you to go to sleep right about now**

**Crow: I have bigger issues to deal with than sleeping.**

**Joker: :|**

Akechi really is tired though. At least he doesn’t have to go into the Metaverse for a while. He just has to wait for Akira to make the call to go into the Metaverse. His phone beeps again. 

**Joker: wait i just realized something**

**Joker: igor called you a trickster?**

**Joker: last time i was the only trickster…**

**Joker: this is certainly interesting**

Would he ever catch a break at this point?


	10. Chapter 10

Akira and Akechi decide that the two Trickster dilemma was something to discuss later. After all, it is getting rather late, and Akira isn’t even sure that Akechi has slept or had anything more than coffee in the past three days. He needs to be well rested for the next few coming days anyway. Tomorrow, Akira would be going into the Metaverse, and the day after that going to the volleyball rally and investigating. As Akira relives more and more of his first days in Tokyo, more and more starts coming back to him. He had actually almost forgotten about all the rumors that surrounded him, or the fear that the volleyball team had in their eyes. 

Ryuji’s just as horrified as he was last time as they trek through the castle. Morgana tries to explain to him over and over again what he’s seeing in front of him isn’t real, just a representation. He finally completely loses it once they’re surrounded by enemies with Kamoshida and Cognitive Ann leering at them. And once more, Captain Kidd bursts forth and saves the day.

The next day, it’s the volleyball tournament. Mishima takes a solid spike to the face, and Akira terrifies several people by just existing. Akechi has only sent a few texts in the previous days, telling Akira that he’s going into the Metaverse to “train.” Knowing Akechi, he’s definitely a lot more frustrated about this than he’s letting on. But Akira keeps his mouth shut and doesn’t chide him, and instead just “gently reminds” him that he really shouldn’t be exhausting himself more than he already is. It’s better that he’s at least blowing off steam in the Metaverse, instead of accidentally dropping his guard and screaming at someone on live TV or something. Or just shooting someone. 

The day after that, Morgana offers to strike a deal. Cooperate with him, and he’ll help them change Kamoshida’s heart. Akira readily accepts. He’s eager to get the ol’ Phantom Thief machine back online, anyway. Hopefully, Ryuji and Morgana didn’t notice just how enthusiastic he was. Afterwards, Akira’s on his way home when he runs into Ann getting called by Kamoshida. Seeing Ann like this, back into the desperate girl who just wanted to help her friend, made him sad. She’d grown so strong with the rest of the Thieves. Well, she hadn’t really grown strong. She had always had the strength inside her, she just hadn’t realized it yet, like the rest of the Thieves. He listens to her talk about her problems, and they go their separate ways. 

During the heist the next day, Ann slips into the Metaverse too. Kamoshida once again reveals himself to be an awful pervert, and Morgana’s weird crush officially begins. Now it’s Ann and Carmen’s turn to save the day from the toilet demon. After that, as they emerge from the Metaverse, Akira keeps an eye out for Maruki walking by. Apparently, it was on this day when he saw them emerge from the Metaverse. Maruki walks by fairly quickly, after he realizes that he’s getting weird looks for staring into the alley for just slightly too long. Akira’s glad that he’s getting a bit of rest tomorrow. Today, with the tragedy of Shiho jumping, and dealing with Kamoshida’s wrath, wasn’t something he wasn’t looking forward to reliving. 

As he walks out of the alleyway, his phone buzzes. 

**April 15, 20XX**

**4:12 pm**

**Crow: Are you done with the palace yet?**

**Crow: I’m getting impatient.**

**Crow: Running around in the Metaverse by myself is getting boring.**

**Joker: you know you could go get a good night of sleep right instead of staying in there for god knows how long**

**Joker: also ann just awakened to her persona and im going to takemi’s tomorrow and to iwais the day after that**

**Joker: the earliest ill be completely done is in like 4 or 5 days.**

**Crow: Ngh.**

**Crow: Why can’t you and I just handle it ourselves.**

**Joker: aww thank you**

**Crow: That wasn’t a compliment.**

**Joker: also if the phantom thieves aren’t formed all of my friends will remain trapped in their situations.**

**Crow: Ugh. Fine. Only because it seems you won’t budge on this.**

**Crow: But hurry up.**

Ryuji elbows Akira as the four of them walk to the train station. 

“Who’re you texting so much, huh?” Ryuji’s voice is significantly quieter, probably to not disturb Ann who has a contemplative look on her face. 

“Just an old friend,” is all Akira says. When they get to the station, Ryuji breaks off from the group momentarily to bring over some drinks. After Ryuji gives one to Ann and one to Akira, Ann expresses her interest in joining the group, and the threat that she’ll go in by herself.

The rest of the day goes rather smoothly, with Morgana reintegrating himself into Akira’s life. Now, it’ll be much harder to sneakily meet up with and talk to Akechi, but the cat shaped void in his life is filled. Speaking of Akechi…

“Are you really sure you have no idea who the other person in the Palace was the other day?” Morgana says as he licks clean the plate of food that Sojiro had brought him. 

“Positive.”

The next couple of days go off without a hitch, with him getting some meds from Takemi, but not actually buying anything from Iwai. He already has more than enough powerful gear and armor from last time. The Palace goes off without a hitch, too, with Akira’s supply of SP adhesives keeping everyone running.

“Yo, where did you even  _ get _ this stuff?” Ryuji had asked him when Akira had handed him his gear.

“Don’t worry about it,” was all Akira could really say. He wasn’t about to launch into the whole story of what happened last time. 

But the time had finally come. 

**April 18, 20XX**

**8:19 pm**

**Joker: sending the calling card tomorrow**

**Crow: Took you long enough.**

**Joker: aren’t you gonna have some issues with shido though**

**Crow: No, not yet. They did not begin to panic until Kamoshida had his mental breakdown. We’re going to Mementos as soon as we can, though.**

**Joker: understood**

**Joker: one problem though**

**Joker: how am i supposed to go without morgana he basically doesnt ever leave me alone**

**Crow: Just tell him that Ann wants to go on a shopping trip with him, and tell Ann that Morgana wants to be a more fashionable cat. Or that you're hanging out with a friend.**

**Joker: genius**

**Crow: I know.**

“Hey, we need to get some sleep. We do have a big day tomorrow!” Morgana cheerily says. Hopefully, Kamoshida won’t say anything about a black mask. Some puzzles were oddly half-solved in the palace, but it didn’t seem like any major figures had been fought. 

But that would have to wait until tomorrow. 


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is basically just some more exposition on Akechi, but I promise we will be getting to the Mementos trip very soon...

Akechi lies in bed. He had lied to Akira about Shido panicking, and he isn’t sure why. Maybe it was some weird sort of defense mechanism, where he tried to downplay everything so Akira wouldn’t pity him. Whatever it is, as soon as those calling cards appear tomorrow on Shujin’s walls, Shido would be summoning him. Shido’s tantrums whenever his path to total domination is challenged are an absolute headache to deal with. Shido also only seemed to direct those tantrums at Akechi, probably so he could feel all high and mighty over a teenager who he’s planning to kill anyway. Rat bastard. But the Thieves and most importantly Akira don’t need to know that much of his business. 

He thinks it might be fun to go watch Akira his merry little crew take down Kamoshida, but that damn Morgana has already spotted him once. Considering his reputation around some of the other Palace rulers, and Morgana’s own suspicion, it’s just not safe. Whatever, he’s already going to have a long enough day tomorrow. If he disappears right when Shido goes crazy, he’s gonna have a whole fucking lot of other problems. He’ll just have to wait. So, he tucks himself up into a ball, and tries to sleep.

To no one’s surprise, he wakes up at 2 am. Perhaps he’s a little more stressed than he thought. He gets up out of bed and gets a glass of water. For once, the cold stillness of his apartment is strangely comforting. No one would barge in at this hour and see the lost shell of a man sitting at his dining room table. The only thing he was living for had failed, after all, and Akira had to pick up the scraps of his plan to defeat Shido. Repeating it all over again just felt, well, he wasn’t quite sure. Right now, he could go back to sleep, or try texting Akira. He tries the latter.

**April 19, 20XX**

**2:15 am**

**Crow: Are you awake?**

Unsurprisingly, Akira doesn’t respond for a few minutes. Akechi realizes that he probably shouldn’t have tried to wake him up on the night of a Metaverse mission. 

**Joker: i am now**

**Joker: morgana is gonna get suspicious tho**

**Crow: Right. Sorry. Good night.**

**Joker: an apology? for me? :)**

**Crow: How do you manage to be constantly insufferable.**

**Joker: its part of my charm**

**Joker: why are you awake anyway didnt i tell you to sleep**

**Crow: I tried, you know. However, it seems like my mind has other plans.**

**Joker: i see well why dont you drink something warm (NO COFFEE) and try to go back to sleep morgana is staring at me oh god i should do the same goodnight**

**Crow: Good night. Do you really constantly need to be so helpful?**

No response from Akira. Akechi sighs, and gets up to wash his glass. He lets the sound of the running water be the only thing in his mind. Once he finishes, he puts it back, and goes back into his room. He slumps into his bed, and sleeps a dreamless sleep.

He wakes up, and heads to school, mentally preparing for the call from Shido to leave. His school knows well enough not to bother to try to stop him from leaving. He brought enough good attention to them anyway, with being that famous boy who works with the police. They didn’t want him to tarnish their reputation by saying that they were “getting in the way of his success.” But they were just more adults trying to use him for fame and getting ahead, so he couldn’t care less about them. 

His phone vibrates only mere minutes into second hour. Kobayakawa must have informed one of Shido’s other lackeys, and word spread from there. And now, Akechi’s getting a barrage of texts, telling him to get over to one of Shido’s apartments immediately. It’s infuriating how narcissistic that man is, always expecting others to be available immediately. But eventually, he makes it over there. 

“Shido-san, I’m here. What did you need me to talk about?” Shido doesn’t even deign to turn around. How sickening. Even when Akechi was staring Akira down, ready to slash him up with Loki in that boiler room, he still bothered to look at Akira’s face. Shido’s not even doing the bare minimum, and makes him wait in agonizing silence for a few seconds that feel like minutes. 

“Oh, there you are, Akechi. It seems like we have a problem on our hands.”

“And what could that problem be, sir?” Akechi kicks himself whenever he calls Shido sir or Shido-san.

“It looks like someone has the power to ‘change hearts’ as they say. Now hopefully, it’s just some little prank, but if it isn’t, you know what has to happen. Or, maybe….” Shido has a weird far away look on his face. Oh, that’s right. Today was the day Shido proposed the initial set-up for catching the Phantom Thieves. 

“I see. We pin all of our crimes on them, if they truly do what they say they will,” Akechi say smoothly, no emotion in his voice at all.

“Yes, at least you seem to understand. We cannot be having any threats to our great country, after all. If I’m not here to steer it, then who will? I am the best thing that will ever happen to this country.” Shido continues to puff up his own ego as Akechi stands there in silence. Hopefully, his contempt isn’t showing on his face. As he zones out, that girl’s quiet voice creeps into his mind. The birth of the Devil persona, is all she says, before quietly vanishing. 

After far too much time, Shido lets Akechi leave. It’s too late in the day to bother trying to go back to school, but too early for Akira to even be in the Palace yet. So he sets up shop in a local cafe, trying to look unassuming. Their coffee isn’t that good, and the food’s a little burnt, but it works out just fine. He watches the clock tick, and checks his phone. Once he feels like he’s been there for too long, he moves on to another cafe. After doing this a couple more times, his phone finally buzzes. 

**April 19, 20XX**

**5:47 pm**

**Joker: once again crow it’s a part of my charm and suave mannerisms**

**Joker: although it wasnt very suave of me taking kamoshida down in like 20 seconds.**

**Crow: Impressive.**

**Crow: I had considered going to watch but I thought Morgana would probably see me again.**

**Crow: And from what you’ve told me it seems like the Palace rulers are already quite familiar with me.**

**Joker: only shidos associates**

**Joker: anyway**

**Joker: you can finally go to mementos with me tomorrow**

**Crow: I’m looking forward to it, Joker.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >Be me  
> >sit down to write this chapter  
> >immediately get distracted by the megami tensei wiki

Akira’s glad to be done with that pervert’s castle. He can tell that Ryuji and Ann are too, as even though their faces are tired, there’s still a small glint of happiness and success in them. Ryuji’s standing in a more lopsided way than usual, probably from him tripping as they tried to run out of the palace. Akira had desperately wanted to scream for Morgana to turn into a car, but he wasn’t supposed to know that. Speaking of turning into a car, Akira sneakily texts Akechi about going into Mementos tomorrow, while Ryuji, Ann, and Morgana are still talking to each other. They’re antsy about the possible expulsion, while also wondering how they’re gonna pawn off the medal. Akira reassures them that everything should end up going fine, and that they should wait, before they all go their separate ways. 

As Akira and Morgana make their way to the station, Akira bops Morgana on his head lightly, causing Morgana to poke himself out of the bag.

“What’s up?” the cat says. 

“Hey, so I kinda realized that I’m pretty behind with classwork, and need some time to be alone. So I was thinking, why don’t you go and hang out with Ann and Ryuji tomorrow?” 

“Hmm, but only if you don’t slack off without me there!” God bless Morgana for being obtuse sometimes. 

**Spooky Scary Phantom Thieves**

**April 19, 20XX, 6:02 pm**

**Joker: hey yall**

**Joker: so im just realizing with the metaverse stuff taking up time and the move here and all that that im kinda pretty far behind**

**Skull: welcome 2 the club**

**Joker: thank you :)**

**Skull: bro...**

**Joker: anyway im gonna do some studying by myself tomorrow and im dumping morgana off on you guys**

**Joker: if you want to do something fun ill give you the money for it as my thanks**

**Panther: Really? You’re too nice! :D**

**Panther: What do you guys want to do?**

**Skull: anything with meat or ramen**

Akira lets Morgana take over, occasionally asking Akira to type for him. They seem to eventually settle on a plan. He hopes they have fun. But not to insult his friends too much, he’s glad that someone like Makoto or Futaba isn’t there to see through his ruse. Ann might just be being nice, considering she sees him get the right answers in class every day, but she still hasn’t said anything. 

Akira and Morgana get back home to a weary Sojiro entertaining a pompous customer. He can’t do much to help right now, so he just ducks his head and speedwalks upstairs. Morgana jumps out of his bag and curls up next to it on the table by the stairs. The cat looks calm, but also is just ever so slightly tensed. Hopefully, he’s just tired and still on edge from the fight. Akira sits down on the couch, and his phone buzzes again. 

**April 19, 20XX**

**8:12 pm**

**Crow: Do you have a plan for tomorrow to get them out of your hair?**

**Joker: yes sir**

**Joker: your shopping trip plan seemed to work**

**Joker: even ryujis going**

**Crow: Never call me sir again. But that is good.**

**Crow: I assume the usual place by the station tomorrow?**

**Joker: yes**

**Crow: Good.**

“Hey, you gotta be pretty tired, right? Let’s go to sleep,” Morgana says, his feet quietly padding across the floor. Akira readily agrees, and flops himself down in bed. Akechi’s probably going to want to run around as much as he can tomorrow, so Akira needs to be as rested as possible. Speaking of Akechi and sleep… 

**Joker: by the way**

**Joker: Go to bed.**

**Crow: I do not understand why you continue to nag about this.**

**Crow: I am fine.**

**Joker: sure**

**Joker: we’ll see about that tomorrow**

And with that, Akira falls asleep. 

The next day at school is rather uneventful, other than Kawakami pulling him and Ryuji aside to talk about Kamoshida. His “mysterious leave of absence” is cause for a small celebration at lunch, and murmurs in the hallways. The school never officially told anyone why Kamoshida was missing, anyway. From under his desk, he can hear Morgana practically vibrating from excitement about getting to spend time with his precious Lady Ann. Well, he is purring. Quite loudly. Akira has to poke him several times to get him to stop. This is one of the times he’s glad everyone thinks he’s a mass murderer or something. No one’s going to question the guy with a record about the weird sound coming from his desk. 

Akira meets up with Ann and Ryuji at the school gate, and hands off Morgana and some money. He waits for the three of them to leave, following at enough of a distance to see where they go. They get on the Ginza line, but go the other direction. Maybe Ann’s taking them to Ginza for a bit of window shopping. But at least they aren’t going in the same direction he is. 

Finally, he makes his way to Shibuya, where Akechi is leaning against the side of the station entryway near Buchiko. Akechi’s in his normal person disguise again. It’s still unnerving to see him like that, not as Tokyo’s darling Detective Prince, or the murderous psychopath that Akira got to see in the Metaverse. Just a normal, albeit vaguely familiar, teenager. 

“Well look who finally got here. You’re late.” 

“Did we ever decide on a time to show up?”

“Whatever, Kurusu. We’re going in.”

The world ebbs away as they melt into the Metaverse. The first thing that Akira happily notes is that Maruki’s Persona’s tentacles are noticeably absent. Secondly, Akechi is in his prince costume, which weirds him out a bit. 

“Why that one? I thought you said moving was easier in your black one?”

“Well, Mona did say that he saw a ‘person in dark clothes,’ so it’s easier to not be that.” Akechi is clearly uncomfortable, however. It’s not surprising that Akechi did that though. He never trusted the Thieves that much, as Akira had learned through watching him get increasingly frustrated (or happy) when they’d show up at just the right time to save the day. 

And thirdly, the door to the Velvet Room is gone. Akira’s puzzled. Entryways to the Velvet Room itself were there in other places, like outside Untouchable. Akechi’s got a bemused look on his face, too.

“Last time I was here, the door to the Velvet Room was here too…” Akechi’s voice trails off. Akira thinks that’s enough proof that Akechi has access to the Velvet Room. After all, his own teammates couldn’t even see him go in the door. 

“Maybe it’s because we’re in here together?” Akechi shakes his head. 

“That could be one reason. In which case, why would they want to hide that from us? But also, last time, wouldn’t the same have happened? I mean, I wouldn’t have known, but still.”

“You also weren’t a wild card last time, Crow.” 

“Fair. Now, shall we?” Akechi follows Akira through the turnstiles. As they walk through the first area, Akira suddenly remembers something. He reaches out into empty space and pulls out Akechi’s weapons from last time. 

“I think you’ll want these.” Akechi, for the second time today and the third time over the course of the entire time they’ve known each other, looks dumbfounded. Eventually, he seems to have either come up with some explanation in his head, or has just given up. They walk around for a while. Akira’s never gotten around like this in Mementos. The only times he ever got out of the car was to open chests, talk to Jose, and fight. Speaking of Jose, Akira’s surprised he hasn’t seen him around. 

“Hey, do you think Jose’s going to come around here any time soon?” Akira asks, his voice slightly echoing in the tunnels. 

“I never saw him until I went with you during our first, well, partnership.” Akechi says a bit flippantly. They trudge onwards, until they find a Shadow stumbling about. It looks at Akira, then Akechi, and back at Akira, before charging straight at them. Akira does the same, running straight at it and smashing it over the head with his knife. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Akechi smirk slightly. The Shadow melts into the ground, and two demons spring forth. They’re both incredibly weak, just an Angel and an Incubus. 

“Hey, Akechi! Let’s try something. Knock them both down, but _don’t kill them._ ” Akira harshly enunciates the last part. In battle, it feels like if Akira isn’t explicitly clear with his commands, Akechi won’t even bother with them. Whether it’s because Akechi’s stubborn, or if Akechi doesn’t even hear Akira over his own bloodlust, Akira doesn’t know. Akechi seems to get the message though after Akira knocks down Incubus using a well timed Kougaon from Uriel, which thankfully manages not to take it out entirely. Akechi uses Eigaon on the Angel, which completely destroys it. Akechi turns and stares at him, waiting for him to tell him what to do.

“Akechi, talk to it. It seems gloomy.” The demon starts complaining about his life, and Akechi cooly responds. This pleases the demon, who declares that it’ll help Akechi now. It promptly disappears as it gets vacuumed into his mask. 

“What the fuck?” Akechi says after the heat of the battle wears off. He tries summoning it, and it pops up behind him, ready to take anything down. 

“Well, that really does settle it. Maybe if the Velvet Room ever bothers showing up you can try fusing some fun things,” Akira says. Akechi still has a surprised look on his face. Akira had always assumed Akechi had the ability to do this, but why it was unlocking now for him along with confidants confused him. Maybe Yaldabaoth had tried to take a jab at Igor by making his pawn one too, assuming that Akechi and Akira would continue their semi-hostile rivalry that Yaldabaoth had seen. It wasn’t likely, in Akira’s opinion, that Yaldabaoth had seen how they acted during the third semester, though. 

Akechi still looks concerned for far too long.

“Is everything okay?” 

“Well, I’m guessing you never felt this cause you always had a bunch of people with you. But someone else is in here?”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive, Joker. After all, I knew when the Thieves were in here the same time I was. A car does make quite an impact on the environment.”

“Wait, so Morgana is here?!”

“Likely with your friends in tow.”

Now it’s Akira’s turn to be mad and panicking, “Morgana must have read my texts or something. I shouldn’t have answered your texts at night! I should’ve waited until Morgana was out of the room! I should’ve-”

“Hey, Joker? Shut up, you sound too much like me. We just have to get to the exit without crossing them.”


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Short chapter for today. Also, I think every so often I'm going to have chapters like this where Akira and Akechi aren't the main focus, just so we can see the other characters in action more, as well as seeing their motivations.

Ryuji, Ann, and Morgana all sit on the train. The quiet clacking is disturbed by Ryuji and Ann positively buzzing with excitement. Akira was paying for them to have fun, and Morgana said they were going to go someplace special. Ann and Ryuji know that the only “special places” that Morgana knows are in the Metaverse, so it’s a bit odd that Morgana’s taking them there without Akira. Then again, Morgana’s been acting a bit off ever since Akira handed them off to them. Not exactly mad or sad or anything, just a bit, well, Ryuji and Ann don’t really know how to describe it.

“I want you guys to eat up, okay?” Morgana’s voice pipes up from the inside of Ann’s bag. Ryuji looks as happy as always at the prospect of food. They get off at Ginza, and find a relatively upscale beef bowl shop. The little motley crew gets some strange looks and disturbed mutters from some of the other patrons, but it’s still a beef bowl shop. People from all walks of life are here, and they’re keeping to themselves. Even Morgana gets in on the food, begging Ann to order the priciest bowl for him. Instead, Ann orders a side and Ryuji sneaks it into the bag for Morgana when he can. As they’re finishing up, Morgana starts talking again.

“Alright, I hope you’re all full. We’re going to Shibuya now!” Ryuji and Ann share a quizzical look. 

“Shibuya? What do you want from there, Morgana?” Ann says. Ryuji still seems like he’s processing what Morgana said. Maybe it’s because of the food. 

“It’s not a what, it’s a  _ where.  _ We’re going to Mementos.”

“A, what now? Meme toes?” Ryuji finally says.

“No, you idiot! Me-men-tos!” 

“So, uh, yeah. What’s so special about this Mementos place?”

“I’m assuming it’s in the Metaverse, right, Morgana?”

“Yes, Lady Ann. It’s in the Metaverse. And Ryuji, you’ll see when we get there.” 

As they ride the Ginza line back to Shibuya, Morgana takes a minute to contemplate. Sure, he was bringing Ryuji and Ann into Mementos for a bit more training, but he was also conducting a bit of his own surveillance. He’d seen Akira texting someone by the name of “Crow” rather frequently recently. Those two seemed awfully friendly too. From the few texts that he saw, Morgana knows that this “Crow” knows of the Metaverse, and that Akira and Crow are meeting up today. If they’re going into Mementos, Morgana wants to see why the rest of the Thieves weren’t invited. Could Akira be lying about not knowing who that person in the dark outfit was? Nah, he couldn’t have. After all, Ryuji had watched Akira awaken to his persona on the same day that they saved Morgana. And yet, Akira could summon all sorts of weird, incredibly powerful personas. But Akira didn’t seem like the kind of guy who would sneak around. 

They arrive at Shibuya station. The station square is absolutely packed with people, so it won’t be too weird if they disappear into the Metaverse from here. Ryuji pulls out his phone. 

“So, what was it again, Morgana?” Morgana sighs.

“It’s  _ Mementos,  _ Ryuji. And you better know it by heart!” 

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. Mementos, right?” The world begins to swirl, and the three of them are transported into what looks like the entrance to the train station, just with its own special Metaverse flair. The walls are an unsettling shade of red, and there are what seem to be veins running throughout. 

“So, Morgana. What is this place anyway?” Ann says as she scratches her head. Ryuji looks equally dumbfounded. 

“This is Mementos,” Morgana says with a haughty tone, “it’s  _ everyone’s  _ Palace.”

“Everyone’s? Wait, then how do you steal the treasure?” Ryuji asks. 

“There isn’t one singular treasure, instead we can do some smaller scale changes of heart. It’s also an excellent place to train, as far as I know.” Morgana can vaguely smell the scent that other people were in here recently. He’s not sure if it’s Akira necessarily, but it’s certainly someone. 

“Oh, and one last thing, guys!” Morgana shimmies away from Ann and Ryuji. He makes a couple of funny poses and…

“Morgana! TRANSFOOORM!” 


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I saw a post where it was the "I regret creating you" "then get rid of me, pussy." post where Yaldy was the first one and Akechi was the second one and to be honest that's the vibe I want Akechi to have by the end of this.

Akechi watches Akira pace slowly back and forth. Truthfully, Akechi never would have expected Akira to get worked up like this. He’s always seen Akira as the calm, level headed leader of the Phantom Thieves, even when Akechi had a gun trained at his face. Sae’s cognition of him was the same, as Akira’s cognitive form didn’t even flinch. But here was Akira now, pacing back and forth and muttering. Maybe this is what Akira’s like behind closed doors, when he’s only with Morgana. Probably not though. That cat would be gloating over how he “got to see Akira’s true self.” Akechi might be full of himself, but he’s pretty sure he’s the person who has seen the most of the “true Akira,” especially with the scene playing out in front of him. 

“Are you done thinking yet? We need to get going,” Akechi says dryly. Akira is startled by this, and he stops moving. He seems off guard and surprised about his own facade breaking. Akechi may be a man of many faces, but he knows that Akira is too. But just as suddenly as Akira’s mask breaks, it’s right back on and his stoic composure returns. 

“Right. Can you cover up your hair in any way?” His hair? Why would Akira want him to cover up his hair? Oh, right. Not many guys in Tokyo with the same haircut as him. He tries to partially summon his Black Mask outfit, but no dice. 

“Do you have anything in those magic pockets of yours?” Akira stares off into space for a few minutes. Akechi can only hope that he’s checking whatever extradimensional space he keeps all of the team’s resources in. Eventually, he comes back to the present, and shakes his head. Not surprising. 

“Okay then, new plan. Since they shouldn’t be able to reach the lower levels, I’ll go hide out in there,” Akechi says, “since, after all, at this point I’m far more popular than you are.” Akechi lets his Black Mask outfit cling to his body once more. The overwhelming sense of wrongness that he feels while wearing the prince outfit is gone, too. Akira turns away from him. 

“Guess I’ll go back up and explain myself if I have to.” Ah, there he is. That’s the Joker he knows. Akechi goes the opposite direction. When he tries to leave, the rest of the Thieves better be gone too. 

He sprints down, slashing his way through more Shadows. But now, he feels positively alive. Was it really from spending time with Akira? No, it’s probably because he has more personas in his arsenal now. He tries talking to a few of them, and some of them join his arsenal. After a couple lucky critical hits, he convinces a Hua Po and an Apsaras to join him. A Nue begs for its life, and after some resistance on Akechi’s part, Akechi lets it into his mask as well. The Path of Chemdah doesn’t have many interesting offerings in terms of demons. However, he doesn’t want to go down any farther, because it’ll be a pain in the ass to walk all the way back. That target he took out a couple weeks ago was in Aiyatsbus, and that was bad enough. 

It doesn’t seem like Morgana’s bus is going to be leaving any time soon, however. Either Akira’s bumbling like a fool through making up some reason for why he’s here, or they’re actually training. He’s spent enough time in Mementos over the years to notice its subtle shifts, or not so subtle when a car that’s actually a cat comes roaring through. Akechi thanks himself silently that he bothered to tell Shido that he’d be out in the Metaverse for the entire afternoon and evening. He hadn’t expected a quick in and out job, but he wasn’t expecting it to take this long. So he’ll just have to sit there on the hard plastic seat in the waiting area of the train tracks and twiddle his thumbs.

After a solid 30 or so minutes, Mementos finally returns to normal as the Thieves leave. Thank god. However, that means walking all the way back to the entrance. Goddamnit. Well, he’ll just have to suck it up for now. On his way up, he also takes a Pixie into his mask. 

When he’s about to leave, the Velvet Room flickers back into existence. Both Caroline and Justine flank the sides of it. Caroline looks thoroughly displeased, with her crossed arms and a scowl.

“Took you long enough, Inmate! Looks like you actually figured out those powers of yours!”

“And with the help of someone you share a bond with. I believe our Master will be pleased.” Justine escorts him inside the room. Somehow, he doesn’t see them walk through his cell in order to stand inside where Igor is. Eh, it’s probably just another weird quirk of the Velvet Room. 

“If you want to make your personas stronger, you must fuse them.” Justine says in her soft voice. Guess he doesn’t really have a choice right now. But this must be how Akira got some of the stranger personas that Akechi had never seen anywhere in Mementos or in a palace before. In his mind’s eye, Akechi can see the full list of Personas inside him currently. He randomly picks two, Pixie and Apsaras. However, he did see the option to fuse together Loki and Robin Hood back into Hereward, but he holds off on that for now. 

“Time for an execution!” Caroline gleefully says. So he wasn’t hallucinating that guillotine. Caroline and Justine bag up his personas, and drop the guillotine on them, releasing their energy and forming a new persona in between the two guillotines. It introduces itself as Clotho, and vanishes into Akechi. So that’s that. It’s creepy how much the twins seemed to delight in “executing” his personas, but it might be part of their job. Akechi leaves the Velvet Room, and finally, finally leaves Mementos. He’s not as tired as he was when he came out of Mementos after Shido’s most recent assignment, thankfully. 

He has one text on his phone from Akira. 

**April 20th, 20XX**

**7:43 pm**

**Joker: oh do I have a LOT to talk about text me when you get out pls also morgana is kinda mad at me and also at you**


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> must. resist. urge. to. buy. p4g.

Akira walks quietly through Mementos, the only sounds around him the squish of his boots on the ground and the roar of an engine above him somewhere. Well, he’ll have to think up some lie. For all he knows, Morgana has read the entirety of his chats with Akechi. But there was always the chance that he had only seen the stuff about Akira going into the Metaverse. Either way, he’s got two choices. He can either lie, or tell the truth. Lying will likely get him into hot water later, or right now if Morgana tries asking him who Crow is. But telling the truth is a whole other can of worms. Perhaps he can tell some sort of warped half truth. Morgana’s likely going to be asking him about how he even found Mementos, anyway. 

Speaking of the devil, the odd purring of Morgana’s engine draws even closer. They have to be on the same floor as him by now. Him and Akechi hadn’t gone that far down, anyway. Akira decides that he’s going to stand and wait. Since Morgana and co. are moving around, the Reaper shouldn’t pop up anyway. He wants to sit down, but that would be dumb and it would raise even more questions. So, he waits. 

He looks over his shoulder slightly, and out of the corner of his eye he sees Morgana turn the corner, before stopping sharply when whoever is driving notices him. Ryuji gets out of the passenger side. Ann gets out too, and the car transmogrifies back into Morgana’s Metaverse form. It’s now or never. Akira’s a smooth talker, but sometimes it fails. Hopefully not this time. But as long as he explains himself somewhat coherently, he should be fine. 

“Joker? I thought you were studying?” Ryuji says. So Morgana hadn’t told them about him knowing that Akira knows how to get to this place. 

“Skull! That’s not the important part! Joker, how did you even get here?” Ann says as she hurries up to him. Ryuji does the same, and Morgana follows suit. They’re just close enough that he feels uncomfortable. If they catch him off guard too much, they’ll see directly through his lies. 

“So, uh. When I first found the MetaNav app on my phone, I spent a bunch of time screwing around with it. Eventually, I don’t remember even what I was doing exactly, I ended saying something like ‘meme toes’-”

“See! Joker thinks it sounds like meme toes!”

“Anyways, it ended up with me getting the navigation so I could come here.” Akira sighs quietly. It’s a pretty bad lie, but it covers up how he got here. However, there was still the major issue of if Morgana knows about Akechi. But right now, Morgana doesn’t seem want to disturb Ryuji and Ann fretting over him. Akira is astonished that Ann and Ryuji have already moved on past Akira sneaking into the Metaverse, and aren't barraging him with questions. 

“Joker, are you sure you’re okay? Do you need any medicine?” Ann says. Bless her.

“Man, why didn’t you tell us about this? I don’t wanna see you getting hurt when I could’ve helped!” Bless Ryuji too. 

“Yeah, Joker, why didn’t you tell us?” Morgana says. _Because I’m not supposed to be here yet and I wanted to be with Akechi for a while, since there’s only so much time before you guys officially meet him_ , is what he wanted to say. And Morgana’s got a look on his face that’s slightly suspicious. So he finally decides to loudly point out the elephant in the room that only he and Morgana can see. 

“Morgana, how many of my texts did you see?” Ryuji and Ann stop their fretting momentarily. 

“I saw the ones where that Crow said they know about the Metaverse. Who are they anyway?” Time for another lie. 

“Well, when I first discovered the Nav, I ended up making a post about it online to see if anyone knew what it was. This ‘Crow’ responded to me. I said we should meet up today if he was a persona user, and I guess he isn’t because he never showed up.” Not convincing in the slightest, but it worked for now. God he’s screwed once all of this falls apart in their minds. By then, he’ll have had to thought of something more convincing. 

“Didn’t your parents ever tell you not to meet strangers that you met online?” Ryuji says in a pretty accusatory tone. If there was one person who would see through his bullshit but not confront him about it publicly, it would be Ryuji, then Morgana. But Morgana would probably bottle this up. 

“Sorry, they were pretty absent,” Akira says. This is one of the first true things he’s said all day. Ryuji gives him a sympathetic look, and Ann looks pretty angry. Morgana still has a slightly wary expression. At some point, he needs to tell the Phantom Thieves the truth. But not now, with how things are changing so drastically. For all he knows, Yusuke could be the one that asks them to change Madarame’s heart instead of the former pupil they met. Akechi simply meeting him early has already shaken up so much. 

“Well, since we’re here, why don’t we do a bit of training or something?” Morgana brings them all back to the present as he says this. Akira makes a mental note to apologize to Akechi later. He has no idea how far down he went, so Akira hopes he doesn’t have to walk too far, or stay in Mementos for more time than necessary. 

They smash through Shadows as easily as they did in Kamoshida’s Palace. Their equipment, and Akira’s personas, have made this whole fighting thing a breeze. After every fight Ann comments on just how easy it is, which gets a bit annoying after a while. It’s still better than when they first stumbled through the Metaverse, taking multiple trips and leaving completely exhausted with only a small chunk of the palace done each day. 

Eventually, they tire out, and drive back to the entrance. The Velvet Room door still hasn’t reappeared. Akira doesn’t think Akechi will even think about leaving until he knows that the Phantom Thieves have completely left, so it’s not surprising that the door is still gone. As they exit the Metaverse, Morgana hops back into his spot in Akira’s bag. He waves good bye to Ann and Ryuji, and they go their separate ways. Morgana crawls up onto his shoulder. 

“I won’t forget what that Crow did! We could have had another persona user on our hands. But, Akira, don’t run off like that again.” Oh, Morgana. At least it seems like his suspicions were calmed with Akira’s lies. However, he knows that eventually, he’ll find out. Morgana could be a wily little creature sometimes. 

They get on the train to go back to Yongen-Jaya, and Akira places his bag on his lap. Morgana tucks himself inside of it, and falls asleep. His quiet snoring is barely audible over the clack of the train in the silent train car. Akira pulls out his phone. It’s a perfect opportunity for him to text Akechi without anyone peeking at his phone too much. 

**April 20th, 20XX**

**7:43 pm**

**Joker: oh do I have a LOT to talk about text me when you get out pls also morgana is kinda mad at me and also at you**

He doesn’t expect Akechi to respond in any shape or form for a while, so he puts his phone back in his pocket, and zones out for the rest of the train ride. It’s uneventful, even though tensions are still running high from the accident earlier this month, and he arrives home safely. Morgana jumps out of his bag, and curls up on the table. Not much now that Akira can do without Kawakami’s massages, so he’ll just have to wait. 

An hour later, Akechi finally texts him back. 

**8:58 pm**

**Crow: Took you long enough.**

**Crow: What did you do?**

**Crow: I hope it wasn’t anything completely idiotic.**

Akira tells the whole story for him, especially the lies he had told. He hated lying to the Thieves, but it was a necessary evil. 

**Crow: Well, that was certainly something, Joker.**

**Crow: I think there were better options than calling me a ‘random person from the internet,’ but it seems to have worked for you.**

**Joker: im still kind of wary of morgana**

**Joker: like i think he knows more than he let on but hes not gonna ask about it**

**Joker: also did me calling you a random person offend you**

**Crow: My pride has been irreversibly wounded, my dear Kurusu-kun.**

**Joker: :(**

**Crow: Merely a joke.**

**Joker: anyway were gonna lay low for a while until kamoshida confesses so im going to hang out with ann and ryuji for a bit**

**Crow: Understood.**

**Crow: I will inform you if anything comes up on my end. I will be spending more time in Mementos, so please tell me if and when you’re going.**

**Crow: Madarame is next, correct?**

**Joker: yes**

**Joker: and also the first mention of the black mask**

**Joker: so it’ll be your time to shine soon, pancake boy**

**Crow: Didn’t I tell you that I hate you once already?**


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i bought p4g.

Akechi’s life gets real busy once Kamoshida confesses. The SIU is freaking out due to the oddity of the case, and those involved in the Conspiracy are freaking out due to the potential use of the Metaverse. Akira’s told him that they’ve changed the heart of Madarame’s former student, and they’re making moves towards going into his Palace. Honestly, his job has become a lot easier now that he knows the truth about the whole situation. He can kick back, relax as much as he can within reason, which isn’t very much, and spin whatever lies he wants on TV. The masses will eat it up anyway, no matter what he says. He wonders what would happen this time if he was vocally in support of the Phantom Thieves. Shido would probably send someone to kill him in his sleep, but it could be fun to see the difference. But the masses need their drama, and the story of the thief verses the Detective Prince is perfect for that. Pathetic. 

Speaking of Shido killing him, it’s disturbing but nice to actually know that Shido plans to dispose of him eventually. Last time, he had a nagging feeling about it that kept him awake sometimes. That last shred of naivety, that belief that his master plan could be achieved by himself, was killed on that ship. But wouldn’t that be funny now if Shido found out that his little puppet knows his intentions, and that he is in cahoots with the Thieves. Well, not quite yet. Only Akira knows him now. However, once he “officially” meets them, he’s going to be spending a lot more time with Akira, at least.

Other people at his job are much more stressed than himself. Sae-san’s exhausted with the start of the Phantom Thieves case. Oh, if only she knew what was coming. The skyrocketing popularity of the Phantom Thieves, followed by their fall, and then the death of their leader. Or maybe, something else would happen. Akechi did tell Akira that he wasn’t planning on shooting him this time. Perhaps Akechi would be the one sneaking Akira out of the interrogation room. That was a risky thought. If Shido found out, they’d be in significantly hotter water than last time. 

Akira continues to update him on their progress through Madarame’s Palace. Apparently, they met Yusuke in the same manner, and everything has seemed normal to him so far. Yusuke had joined them “just as eagerly as he did last time” after discovering the truth, as Akira had told him. They’re not quite ready to send the calling card, though. Akira had said that they were going to spend another day finding the last Will Seed. For Akechi, it’s an additional day before shit hits the fan for a second time. The Thieves targeting a teacher that ultimately had a breakdown could be brushed off as a prank and a coincidence, but a major artist getting targeted? That was truly suspicious. 

The day of the calling card being sent out finally comes. Akira had texted him the night before, informing him of this, as well as telling Akechi that he’d tell him if the black mask comment happened again. Akechi knows Morgana would definitely put two and two together once Madarame says that. Thank whoever gave him an outfit that conceals his entire head. 

As soon as Shido catches wind of the news about the cards at the exhibition, he calls Akechi back into his office. Akechi’s still not sure, even this time around, if Shido’s more angry about potential tampering with the Metaverse, or losing one of his major financial supporters. It’s most likely the former, considering how Shido considers his associates to be disposable, and how Shido thinks that only a few should be able to use the Metaverse. Shido’s stewing, but his back isn’t facing Akechi this time. It’s an improvement. 

“I’m assuming this is about those calling cards found at Madarame’s exhibit?” Akechi says. Shido scowls.

“What else could it be about, Akechi-kun? I’m not here to discuss the weather with you. I entrust the responsibility of carrying out my tasks in the Metaverse to you, and now these  _ Thieves _ are mettling with it! Don’t you realize the situation we’re in?” Shido spits out the word thieves. 

“Perfectly, sir. I have been staking out the Metaverse recently, and I haven’t seen anything peculiar as of late,”  _ because Joker tells me when not to go, _ “but I will immediately inform you if I see anything.” Like hell he would. He doesn’t particularly like the Thieves, but at this point there’s more for him to lose than for him to gain by him selling them out. 

“If the media asks about this, tell them that you’re looking into it and don’t agree with whatever twisted ideology they follow. We need the public to denounce their ideals. These Thieves are shaking the proud country I wish to build.” Shido is still scowling. 

Akechi doesn’t know what to say, other than a quiet, “I understand, sir,” that makes him feel disgusting. Shido waves him out. Thank god. For now, he has to wait for Akira to hopefully text him, declaring his success. 

Akechi gets home, and is sitting down to eat his takeout when Akira finally texts him. 

**May 23, 20XX**

**7:13 pm**

**Joker: well that was the easiest fight ive ever done megidolaon mopped the floor with them**

**Joker: anyway we have the school clean up adn then madarames gonna confess and then guess what**

**Crow: Must I?**

**Crow: I already know what it is.**

**Crow: You will get to see my face again and hear me say something stupid about pancakes.**

**Joker: :D**

**Joker: one point for crow!**

**Joker: seriously though im annoyed with having to sneak around like this and texting you only in the bathroom**

**Joker: morgana keeps asking if i need to go see takemi**

**Crow: I did not need to know that.**

**Crow: I am eager to see you soon, though.**

**Crow: Also, did Madarame say anything about my black mask?**

**Joker: yup, morgana hasnt said anything about it yet**

**Joker: key word yet**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't wait until I'm able to write a conversation between them again, and not just text messaging, as well as some Akechi interacting with the other Thieves. Also, my Madarame boss fight experience was literally just *megidolaon* *megidolaon* *megidolaon*


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is brought to you by the calendar page on the megami tensei wiki

Akira can tell the rest of the Thieves, especially Yusuke, are glad to be done with that place. It hadn’t sickened him as much as Kamoshida’s Palace did. Then again, he didn’t have the same connection to Madarame that Yusuke does. Yusuke’s been staying strong throughout this, but seeing someone he looked up to so much showing his true colors must be taking a toll on him. But the calling card’s been sent, and Madarame’s heart has been changed. Hopefully, Yusuke finds a bit of peace in that. 

The general grumble in the group now is about the clean up day that Shujin’s hosting. Akira had found it to be a pain in the ass last time, being stuck with people who were only interested in spreading rumors about him. But, he did officially meet Sumire then, too. It’ll be nice to see her again, even if she’s still thinking she’s Kasumi. 

“Man, all of this is a waste of our time,” Ryuji says. The five of them, Ryuji, Ann, himself, Morgana, and Yusuke, are having an early celebration at the diner. Akira still hopes that they’re going to do the hot pot celebration to officially welcome Yusuke, but this is a nice change of pace. 

“Is this clean up just to make the school look good to the public?” Yusuke asks. He’s been fairly quiet all day. At least he’s been eating. Ryuji nods, before grabbing some more food off the plate in front of him. 

“Yup, just some self serving show so that the school’s precious reputation isn’t hurt. Like hell they deserve that reputation! They covered up Kamoshida and Shiho! Honestly, I’d sneak off if I could, but the school already doesn’t like me,” Ryuji says through a mouthful of food. 

“Ryuji! Don’t be so loud! Didn’t you learn your manners? We need to lay low for a while, anyway,” Morgana says. He pops his head out of the bag. “Besides, there’s other matters that we need to think about too. Madarame did mention that person in a black mask.” Oh boy, here we go again. 

“Do you think the black mask is the same person you saw in Kamoshida’s Palace, Morgana?” Ann says. Right, Morgana had asked her too if she knew anything, even though he saw her have her awakening right in front of him.

“What’s this about Morgana seeing someone in the palace?” Guess they had forgot to tell Yusuke about it. Morgana recounts his story. 

“Well, when I was in the Palace, just before I was caught by the guards, I saw a person in dark clothes and a mask running around the catwalks. It most definitely wasn’t a shadow. And, whoever they are, they were moving around like they knew what they were doing.” 

“I mean,” Akira interjects, “we do use a phone app to go in and out. Most likely, we’re not the only ones with it.” 

“Is that why you started talking to that Crow?” Well, thanks Morgana. The jig is up. 

“Yeah. I thought, well maybe there’s someone out there who also has these powers with more experience than me. Of course, that was before I met you guys.”

“Wait,” Ann says, “just how long have you had the MetaNav?” 

“Since the day I came here, April 9th. Only a couple days before Ryuji got it.”

“So you thought of trying to see if there was anyone who could help you understand… I am very appreciative that I got this all explained to me the first time I went into the Metaverse. I can’t imagine the confusion that must have caused you,” Yusuke says. Akira nods. 

“Who’s this Crow guy though?” Damn it, Ryuji. Yusuke’s nice comment almost got everyone off track. 

“Someone I met online who claimed to know about the Metaverse,” Akira decides to somewhat come clean, “They’re one of the reasons why I went to Mementos.” No further comments on that. Anything more he could possibly say would just raise suspicion. The pieces might fall into place in their heads once they hear Akechi say something about pancakes, but for now, the Black Mask and Crow don’t seem to have any correlation. 

“Akira, are you stupid? If they actually showed up, they could have really hurt you!” Ann’s mad at him now. 

“I swear, I was fine. I’m here now. I didn’t want to drag you guys into this anyway. Next time something like this comes up, I’ll tell you right away.” Neither Ryuji or Yusuke make any kind of comment. Ryuji’s a bit stunned looking, and Yusuke’s just confused. But after that, there’s silence at the table for a while. Eventually, the idle chatter starts back up again, and Akira can finally relax. But once him and Morgana get home, he makes sure to tell Akechi about the new developments. 

He isn’t so relaxed on the day of the clean up. First, there was that man harassing Sumire. If he didn’t already have a mark on his record for that exact same thing, he would have punched the guy in the face. Sumire thanked him over and over, while he tried to reassure her that it wasn’t something he could just stand and watch, and that she didn’t need to thank him. It was just the right thing to do. 

The clean up sucks as much as it did last time, as expected. He finds a nice monotony in picking up the trash and putting it in the bag. However, this monotony was broken up by the constant voices around him.

“Don’t get too close to him or look him in the eye! I heard he stabbed the last person who did that.”

“I heard that he robbed a bunch of people!”

“Look at him! Trash picking up trash!” 

He turns back to his trash. It’ll be lunch soon enough, anyway. Makoto and her bullhorn are very good about reminding everyone about that. The gaggle of girls and a couple boys around the table that Maruki’s cooking at is also telling. However, Akira’s not sure how many of the people there are trying to be first in line for lunch, or are in the Maruki fanclub. Thankfully, Sumire comes up to him, and asks to eat lunch with him, which he gratefully accepts. 

“It seems like everyone here’s been giving you a hard time, Senpai,” Sumire says in a worried tone as they sit down to eat. 

“It’s fine, the comments don’t bother me too much. Some of them are quite funny, to be honest.” 

“Are any of them true? Did you really steal all that stuff? Or murder someone?”

“I’ve driven without a license, too,” Akira says with a cheeky grin. Sumire laughs.

“I knew it wasn’t true!” 

“Well, I do still have a criminal record, but it’s because the scumbag I was trying to save a lady from filed against me.” Sumire has her hand over her mouth, and her eyes are wide. 

“That’s awful! I’m so sorry that-” the kid with the balloon walks by again. He lets go for just a second, and its already floating in the air. Sumire gracefully gets up, dashes over to the kid, and snatches the balloon out of the sky just as its about to float out of reach. Her notebook falls out of her pocket. ‘Kasumi Yoshizawa’ is written on it. Sumire walks back over to him. 

“Sorry about that! Oh, I just realized, I never introduced myself to you. I’m-”

“Sumire Yoshizawa, right?” 

“Oh, you saw my notebook. I’m really sorry about not introducing myself earlier.”

“It’s fine. I’m Akira Kurusu.” After they chat for a while, Sumire realizes she needs to go, and Akira meets back up with Ryuji and Ann. Everything proceeds as normal. He gets home, and holes himself up in the bathroom again. 

**May 30th, 20XX**

**6:46 pm**

**Joker: all is going normally on my end**

**Joker: other than i think sumire is sumire and not kasumi**

**Crow: Understandable.**

**Crow: Everything is going relatively normally on my end as well.**

**Crow: However, once Madarame confesses, my life will only begin to get busier.**

**Crow: You’re going to be coming to the TV station on the 9th, correct?**

**Joker: yes**

**Crow: I have more time than I thought to prepare to embarrass myself.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the later than usual chapter, I was busy last night when I usually write these.

Akechi is rather annoyed with himself. His little text conversation that he had had with Akira only served to remind him of his upcoming humiliation. He could say anything else, but he isn’t sure what he could say without everything drastically changing again. If he says something that tips off the Thieves, it’ll be good enough. But it just has to be about those goddamn pancakes. He doesn’t even like the things. He can’t remember any of the other things that Morgana said that could be commented on, anyway.

Shido has another office meltdown after Madarame confesses. At this point, Akechi’s become so numb to them that they’ve become funny. Shido’s just another man with too much power and too much ego, but he has the smarts to act on it. Last time, Akechi even admired the man for it. He hated him, no doubt about it, but it was still rather impressive how he had manipulated the masses to his will. Akechi doesn’t admire that manipulation so much anymore after seeing what Maruki did when he had the same power. It’s the same case for both of them; two narcissistic men, both with their own motivations, who used their powers to manipulate the will of the public. Someone could make the argument that Akechi was as well. However, that was more out of a desire to feel needed than it was to exert his ideals. 

The days tick down. Shido sends him even more talking points, especially regarding the Phantom Thieves. The talk show hosts are definitely going to ask him about it, as, well, the entire interview last time was about them. Things could still change, though. He has to be ready for anything. But for now, the general plan is to still denounce the Thieves’s actions. 

Finally, the day comes. He’s not excited for this in the slightest. Being Shido’s show pony on TV has never been enjoyable. And there was also the matter of the Thieves. At least he can complain to Akira in between the days. 

After he sees some Shujin students scrambling around in the TV studio, Akechi decides it’s time to go looking for Akira and friends. He had seen Akira and Sakamoto running around helping with cables, but at some point they met back up with Ann, which leads to the present time. Akechi walks down that back hallway. Honestly, he doesn’t even remember why he went this way last time. As he gets closer to the side area, he can hear the muttering of the group. He hears Morgana exclaim loudly that he wants to go to the pancake place near by. Oh god, why didn’t he think more about this. At least it sounds like they’re going to have fun later. 

He turns the corner. Strangely, it feels slightly different than from the first time. Akira is standing close to him, but his back is turned. Ryuji notices him first.

“Hey, whaddya want?” Sakamoto says. Akechi puts on his polite TV voice and face. Akira has finally turned around, and gives him a small smile. So that’s why he was facing away initially. Because of the way he turned, his friends can’t see his face too well if he ends up making a funny face or something. 

“Oh, my apologies. I couldn’t help but notice your uniforms. You’re Shujin students, right?” 

“Yeah? What about it?” Takamaki says. 

“Oh, I’m just passing by through here, but since we’ll be filming tomorrow I thought it would only be right if I said hi.” 

“Wait, filming? You a celebrity?” Sakamoto asks

“Oh, not really. I just show up on TV from time to time. But where are my manners? My name is-”

“Oh! I just realized! This is Goro Akechi,” Akira cuts in, a devilish grin on his face. Akechi has no idea what to do at this point. He could leave, but he still needs to say something about Morgana’s pancake comments. 

“Are you a fan of his or something? Ohhh, or are you one of those people who obsesses over idols?” Damn it, Sakamoto. Why did you have to say that? Akira looks embarrassed. Whatever plan he must have been cooking up is crashing and burning before his eyes. But just as soon as that embarrassed look came to his face, it’s quickly replaced once more with that mischievous grin. Akechi should have expected this. They didn’t call him Joker for nothing, after all, and they haven’t seen each other in person for a while. 

“I mean, I certainly don’t follow him just because of his detective work.” Goddamnit. Does Akira really think he wasn’t going to say the pancake line? Does Akira think, well, Akechi’s not going to embarrass himself or reveal his identity, so I have to do it in some roundabout way by alluding to his Metaverse use? Akira’s just being annoying, hopefully. But what had gotten into Akira between the time that he had last saw him and now? Whatever, he’d ask him about it later. 

“Well, anyway, I need to get going. I hope you enjoy your pancakes later.” 

“Huh?” 

“Oh, was I mistaken? I thought I heard something about delicious pancakes.” Akechi internally cringes. Akira shoots him another stupid look. If he laughs, Akechi doesn’t know what he’ll do, but it won’t be very nice of him. Sakamoto, Takamaki, and Morgana look back and forth at each other quickly. Akechi turns on his heels, and walks away. In the distance, he hears Sakamoto commenting that “he’ll never be popular with that kind of hair.” Oh, just wait until you see. His comments tomorrow certainly will skyrocket his popularity. Once again, the masses love a good story of the ace detective verses the gentleman thief. 

Akechi sits through the debrief for tomorrow’s show. It’s the same generic talk show stuff. A huge waste of his time, no doubt about it. They don’t even mention the questions that they’re going to ask him. All it tells him is when to come to the studio, and to have a clean face. Great. He feels so well informed and educated. And while he’s doing that, Akira’s out having a blast. God, he’s jealous. He really should have eaten something today. 

“Akechi-kun? Are you alright?” One of the producers asks this in a pitying tone. Would people stop pitying him for once in his life already?

“I’m fine. Just a little hungry, that’s all.” 

“Oh, sorry about that. We’ll wrap up quickly then.”  _ Damn it, don’t apologize to me _ , he thinks. But apparently the producer sticks to his word, and they’re out after 10 minutes. Akechi walks out of the studio and to the nearby Triple Seven. When he’s in line to buy his sandwich and coffee, his phone buzzes. 

**June 9th, 20XX**

**2:34 pm**

**Joker: Sent an Image.**

**Joker: Sent an Image.**

**Crow: Well, it looks like you’re having fun.**

**Crow: What did you do to Morgana?**

**Joker: whipped cream**

**Crow: Anyway.**

**Crow: What was your little comment about earlier?**

**Joker: oh that**

**Joker: that just kinda slipped out**

**Joker: it doesnt mean anything**

**Crow: Huh.**

**Crow: You should have known that I was going to expose my Metaverse knowlege.**

**Crow: I’m going to get you back for it, you know.**

**Joker: :/**

**Joker: please spare me crow-kun**

**Crow: We’ll see about that.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, I said this was gonna be an Akeshu fic. Let's get the ball rolling on that, with Akira's attempt with flirting with someone with about as much awareness as a brick wall, shall we?


	19. Chapter 19

Akira’s worried about what Akechi’s going to do. He isn’t someone who simply says a threat and then leaves it unfulfilled. But Akira isn’t sure what he could do. The interview is only about the Phantom Thieves, anyway. The only thing Akechi could really do would be outing their identities, but that would be complete overkill. So maybe it’ll be something in private later.

Akira, Ryuji, and Ann file into their seats. It’s way too bright in here. Crew members buzz around them, shouting how long it is until they’re on air. Ryuji leans back in his chair. 

“Man, this is taking a long time…”  
“Would you be quiet? We’re supposed to be good little students.” Ann’s voice is sharp. Ryuji sighs. Akira stays silent. He’s very, very worried about whatever Akechi’s going to do. And anyway, did Akechi even understand what he was trying to say to him? He’d decided recently to see what would happen if he got a little bolder in his interactions with Akechi. So far, he’s either incredibly oblivious or just straight up ignoring him. 

One of the crew members announces Akechi’s arrival, and also announces that the show is starting very soon. 

“Huh, he really wasn’t lying.” Ryuji says. Akechi sits as the producer counts down. One of the announcers starts talking.

“And now we’re on to our ‘hottest meet and greet’ segment! Due to the amazing popularity our show got the last time we had him on, we’ve decided to bring him back. It’s the ace high school detective, Goro Akechi!” Many of the people in the audience cheer. Akira feels something sharp jab him in the ribs. It’s Ryuji.

“Are you gonna cheer too, fanboy?” Akira shoots him a dirty look. Ann also elbows him, but its probably more because Ryuji’s being a bit loud. Akechi is sitting rather stiffly. Akira knew he hates doing these TV segments, but he seems extra uncomfortable and on guard today. He still has that fake media personality facial expression though. 

“Oh, hello everyone. Thank you for having me.” 

“No, thank you for taking the time to join us today! Your life really must be quite busy. And your popularity is incredibly impressive, too!” Akechi’s hand drifts up to his hair. That ramrod straightness from earlier must have been an attempt to stop his fidgeting. 

“Now, before we get to our main topic for today, we have some special guests in the audience as well! Some of the students from the infamous Shujin Academy are here today on a field trip! We were wondering if any of the folks in the audience have any questions for our special guest.” Well, this was certainly new. Akechi also looks surprised. Many hands in the audience shoot up. The female announcer gets up, and prowls around the isles, picking a few students at random. Most of the questions are pretty generic, asking him how balancing school and work is, if doing TV is fun, et cetera. However, when the announcer gets to one of the girls who is clearly a major fan of his, things take an interesting turn.

“Akechi-kun! Do you have a girlfriend? Are there any girls you like? Would you date any of us here? What about me? Please answer!” Oh boy. Akira sends a sympathetic smile in his direction. 

“Oooh! I see we’re going straight for the spicy questions over here! Akechi-kun, do you have a response for this?” Akechi looks very frustrated, and is just overcompensating with fake casual energy. But something tells Akira that he’s about to pull something funny. 

“Well, I don’t have much time for dating. I am very busy after all. But, I did get the privilege to speak with some of you. And, well, some of you were rather interesting. One person that I met that I liked as a person is quite the _joker_.” Could you be any more obvious, Akechi? Ryuji, Ann, and Morgana all have shocked faces. 

“You think he figured us out?” Ann whispers. 

“He couldn’t have! I can tell everyone who goes in and out of a palace, after all,” Morgana says. Well, obviously he can’t. After all, the first time that Akira had learned that movement in and out of the Metaverse could be sensed was from Akechi. 

“Nah, I doubt it.” Ryuji chimes in. The announcer lady is walking back to her sitting area. 

“Well, humor in a lady is something that I can get on board with too, Akechi-kun,” the male announcer says. The announcer lady sits down, and composes herself. 

“Well, after that very interesting segment, now let’s get to our main topic for today! You have a rather important case you’re dealing with right now, correct?”

“Oh, yes. It’s the incident and scandal around Madarame, as well as those Phantom Thieves as a whole.”

“Wow, even Akechi-kun isn’t immune to the hype around the Phantom Thieves! Tell me, if you wish, what you think of them, please.” 

“Well, if they’re the heroes of justice they claim to be, I really hope they do exist. However, I do believe they are committing crimes. Brainwashing someone in some mysterious way to ‘change their heart’ can be considered criminal.” The announcers look surprised, but the Thieves, excluding Akira, are just as if not more surprised. The announcers fall all over Akechi, complimenting him on his charisma and the willingness to honestly speak his mind. 

After that, the announcers decide to poll the audience. Roughly 30% believe in the existence of the Phantom Thieves. That low number seems to be to Ryuji’s chagrin, and Ann has to shush him several times. Akira isn’t sure if its just him, but Ryuji seems much louder than usual. After a short discussion about the poll results, the female announcer gets back up to interview one of the audience members. Unsurprisingly, she walks over to Akira. 

“What do you think of the Phantom Thieves?” Akira glances over at Akechi, who gives him an expectant look. 

“They’re justice itself.” Akira watches Akechi give him the slightest nod. The host is shocked, and comments on how Akira’s opinion was completely different from Akechi’s. Akechi laughs. 

“Well, no argument can exist without its opposition,” Akechi smoothly says, “Now, what would you think if your friend were to suddenly have a change of heart, would you think it was the Phantom Thieves?”

Akira turns the question back on him, “well, what would you think, Mr. Ace Detective Prince?” Akechi gives him an exasperated face. That’s what he gets for the Joker comment. 

“Throwing my question back at me, K-,” his voice makes a slightly strangled noise as he tries to stop himself from saying Akira’s name. Thankfully, it just sounds like he got something stuck in his throat, and he coughs it off. “My apologies about that. But I like your style.” 

The announcer lady and Akechi have no more questions, so she walks back over to the set area. Akechi begins musing about the methods of the Phantom Thieves. But after a few more minutes of this and a few more questions, the announcers thank him for coming, and the show ends. Akira and crew get up, and pull over to the side to have a chat. They’re all worried, except Akira, about Akechi’s comments about him working with the police. 

Ryuji leaves to go use the bathroom, and Ann decides to leave. Morgana sits up on his shoulder to say something to him, but he spots Akechi approaching them, and hops back into Akira’s bag. 

“Oh, it’s you! I wanted to thank you for your honesty. Not many people are willing to engage me in truthful discussion.” It feels so weird now to have Akechi directing his fakeness at him. Akira knows he’s doing it because Morgana can hear him, but still. Their conversation is significantly shorter, as there isn’t much to say between them that they don’t already know. Akechi pulls out his phone. 

“I’d love to have another conversation with you again. Can I have your phone number?” Akira pulls out his phone, and Akechi tells him his number. It’s a different number than the one he’s been using to talk to Akechi. Well, he’ll ask him about it later. Akechi walks away. Morgana pops back out of the bag. 

“Well, he might be troublesome if we get too close to him,” _oh, Morgana, if only you knew,_ “but having his intuition might be pretty useful. Let’s get going.” 

Morgana falls asleep in the bag once more on the train, so Akira pulls his phone out.

**June 10, 20XX**

**3:13 pm**

**Joker: so why the new number?**

**Crow: Good, you noticed.**

**Crow: That number is on a burner phone of mine.**

**Crow: I will be contacting you about official matters using that one so as to not draw suspicion.**

**Joker: smart**

**Joker: so if i wanna hang out or something should i text that one and keep this number when i want to text the elusive and mysterious crow?**

**Crow: …**

**Crow: Are you this bothersome to everyone or just me?**

**Joker: after your comment today just you**

**Crow: I see. Well then.**

**Crow: :)**

**Joker: im scared**

**Joker: i was gonna ask to go play darts but now i dont want to be around you and sharp objects**

**Crow: Haha. I promise nothing bad will happen. Does tomorrow work for you?**

**Joker: sorry thieves celebration for yusuke**

**Joker: is tonight ok?**

**Crow: I think so.**


	20. Chapter 20

Akechi waits outside of Penguin Sniper, the muggy air around him oppressive. After meeting Akira those past few times in much more casual clothes, wearing his normal work clothes just feels weird and stuffy. But he has his image to maintain, so he wears them anyway. He usually doesn’t get approached when he stands here, thankfully. There was always the chance though, especially with one of his fangirls, that he would get approached, though. He’s seen the weird stuff people make about him, and it would only add fuel to the fire if he was seen in anything other than his usual clothes. Akira had said it wouldn’t take him too long to get to Kichijoji, but Akechi’s impatient. 

When Akechi was coming over to where he’s standing now, he had seen one of the entrances to the Velvet Room. Caroline had been sitting on top of the door, kicking her legs in boredom. At this point, it seems like the Velvet Room doesn’t give a shit about the laws of physics. He assumes that it’ll function the same as the door in Mementos and the other palaces. Maybe later he should check it out with Akira.

Speaking of him, Akechi spots Akira walking towards him. Akira gives a small wave, and hurries up. 

“Sorry, it took me a while to convince Morgana to let me come here.” Akechi gives him a weird look.

“Does he think I’m going to throw a dart at you or something?”

“Nah, but he thinks we shouldn’t be getting too close to you. Also, is that a threat?” Akechi smirks at him. 

“Why don’t we go inside already. It’s damn hot out.” Akira nods, but he still has a slightly concerned look on his face. Akechi takes notice, “what, you scared? It’s not like we’re using lawn darts.” Akira makes an exasperated noise, and he walks up the stairs into the club. Akechi follows. For the first time in a while, he feels like he can relax a bit. People could still possibly recognize him, but the general clientele here doesn’t really care about detective high schoolers on daytime TV. Plus, he can talk relatively freely here without threat of the Thieves overhearing.

Akira pays the man at the counter, and they walk over to one of the dartboards. He had never felt a need to ask Akira about his finances, but he always paid for everything. Maybe the money is Metaverse related, somehow. Once they get to their usual dartboard, Akechi pulls one of the barstools over. 

“Let me guess, 701?” 

“It’s the only way that it’s fun.” Akira sets it to 701, and grabs his darts. Akechi watches him throw a perfect 180. Akira’s come a long way since the first time they played. He remembers watching him always try to get the triple 20, and then miss horribly. Akechi wonders why he tries to show off so often, anyway. 

“So, why darts instead of billiards? If you just wanted to hang out, I can get that, but I assumed we’d be talking about things,” Akechi asks as they switch turns. Akira sits down before he bothers to answer. 

“I needed a change of pace. And if I said I was going to go play pool, Morgana would ask why I wasn’t inviting other people. Also, I kind of want to go to the jazz club after this,” Akechi nods, and takes his aim. He isn’t as daring as Akira in this regard, but is well-practiced, and throws 150. 

“I see. You’d rather talk there. I understand.” Akechi’s not really sure what they’d talk about. Akira probably will catch him up on how the Thieves are doing. They do have that celebration that Akira told him about tomorrow. Speaking of Akira, he’s finished his turn with another 180 points. Akechi would be lying if he said it wasn’t impressive. Akira gives him a high five, and goes to sit down. 

“Hey, random question,” Akira says. Akechi pauses his aiming, and turns to him. 

“Yes?” 

“You saw the Velvet Room door coming in, right?” Akechi nods quickly, and throws his darts. It’s the same as last time, and another 150 points tick away from his score. 

“Are you saying you want to go check it out before we go to the club?” Akechi says as they switch to Akira’s turn. Akira doesn’t respond, likely because he’s focusing on hitting the remaining 41 points. He’s successful, unsurprisingly. He puts the dart back, and puts his hands in his pockets. 

“Yeah. I’ve had some questions about it ever since it disappeared when we were together in Mementos.” Right. When Akira had left and Akechi went back to the entrance, it was there. 

“Do you think that it doesn’t work if there’s more than one… wildcard, was it? In the area?” Akira shrugs. 

“Well, we’ll just have to see for ourselves, won’t we?” Akira says. 

They both walk out of Penguin Sniper, with Akechi walking just slightly behind Akira. He knows he’s definitely more on guard than he needs to be, but after that incident at the cafe here, he can’t be too careful. Plus, with that interview earlier today, someone might have noticed him talking to Akira afterwards. He didn’t get any shit or tabloid articles about it last time, but with that drastic change to the interview, anything could happen. However, Akechi doesn’t notice anything out of the ordinary as they make their way down Harmony Alley. It’s just the normal hustle and bustle and the chattering of those eating and working at the various bars.

Finally, they make it to the other end of the alleyway, and turn right. 

“Well, that’s not surprising,” Akira says as he points at the spot where the door used to be. 

“No point in standing around any longer, then,” Akechi turns around, beckons Akira with his hand, and they start making their way to Jazz Jin.

“Do you think the Velvet Room is trying to make sure both of us don’t go in at the same time?” Akira wonders aloud. They’re almost halfway there. Seems like he couldn’t hold in his musings until they were in a somewhat private area.

“Possibly. There could also be some attempt at trying to prevent us from knowing that we both can use the Velvet Room.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I know that whenever you use the Velvet Room, you look like you’re staring off into space, right?” Akira nods, “Well, if you were to see me doing that, you’d probably wonder what’s up, and vice versa. But the real question is, who wants us to not figure out that we both have Velvet Room access?” 

“You impress me every time with your theories, Ace Detective.”

“Haven’t I told you not to call me that?”

“I don’t think you have, actually,” Akira gives him a cheeky grin, and walks down the stairs. Once Akechi gets inside, he sees Akira already talking to the host and paying. If he thinks that paying for this too will make him forget his multiple ‘detective prince’ comments, he’s sorely mistaken. The host leads them over to their usual table, and then leaves them to their own devices with a drink menu. 

“I told you the full story about what happened on the Day of Reckoning, right?” Akira asks as soon as he’s fully seated. 

“You told me some parts. You defeated a god of control who had fused Mementos with reality.” 

“Right. But before the fight all happened, uh…” Akira trails off. He has a strange look on his face. He stays quiet for a minute before he finally finishes his sentence. “Before the fight happened, Yaldabaoth made the Phantom Thieves disappear from public cognition, which in turn, made us in reality disappear. And then after that, we all got transported to the Velvet Room where…” He trails off again. Akechi lets himself use the little bit of empathy he has to stay quiet, and let Akira take his time. He finally starts up again. 

“Well, Yaldabaoth revealed himself, and ordered Caroline and Justine to execute me. But they refused, and had me fuse them back into Lavenza,”  _ so that’s why the twins seem so familiar, _ “Yaldabaoth made me choose between fighting him and allying myself with him, and well, you know what I chose. But after that, after I had found my teammates, Lavenza told us that I was the Trickster chosen by Igor that was going to save the world, and you were…”

“Spit it out.” 

“You were the one chosen by Yaldabaoth, who was supposed to ‘destroy’ the world and make a new one where the masses were under heavy guidance from Yaldabaoth. But he’s rigged the whole thing. He rigged the worship of Shido. And, these changes of heart we’re doing are simply serving his will.” Now Akechi’s mad. 

“So this… god thinks that  _ I  _ want a world where the masses are controlled? That might’ve been me when I was still some brat that just wanted attention and approval, but  _ now? _ ”

“Hey, Akechi. Take a breath, would you? You’re getting loud.” Akechi’s still fuming, but he obliges, and takes a moment to shut up. 

“Anyway,” another deep breath, “why would this god of control give me my memories?”

Akira sits back, “Well, if you knew what would happen, he’s probably assuming that you’re still the same spiteful person you used to be-”

“I still am, but I’m not blind anymore.” 

“I guess that’s true. But he assumed that with your new knowledge, you’d craft an even better plan that would secure my death, and your place as his puppet ruler. But instead-”

“I went to Leblanc for some coffee, and here we are now.” 

“Yeah. Also, I’m not sure if he was able to observe our actions during Maruki’s palace. Speaking of coffee, should we order something?” Oh, right. Akechi had forgotten where he was amidst his rage. He waves over one of the waiters, and orders. 

They spend the rest of the evening in relative calm, with Akira telling him stories from Kamoshida’s and Madarame’s palaces, as well as discussing his excitement for tomorrow. Every so often, he watches Akira check his phone, and he tells him that the Thieves are just as excited about tomorrow.

“Well, I hope you all have a good time. Tell me if anything suspicious comes up.”

The minutes tick by, and eventually both of them realize it’s far too late, and they need to be getting home soon. They say their farewells, and walk to the train station. As Akechi rides the train back to his apartment, he gets a text. It’s either Akira or Shido, and thankfully, it’s Akira. 

**June 10, 20XX**

**10:14 pm**

**Joker: also what was with the joker comment earlier on the show**

**Joker: i forgot to mention that today but now the thieves are like double suspicious**

**Crow: Well, I had to get you back somehow for your comment after Ryuji said what he said.**

**Crow If you thought I wasn’t going to out myself as a Metaverse user you were mistaken.**

**Joker: bruh**

**Crow: What?**

**Joker: nevermind**

**Joker: but theyre definitely gonna ask me about that tomorrow**


	21. Chapter 21

Akira and Ryuji stand in the covered courtyard area at school next to the vending machines. It’s lunchtime, but Ryuji had told the rest of the Thieves, other than Yusuke, of course, that he needed to talk about something. So, here they stand waiting for Ann. Ryuji looks awfully jittery. 

“Hey man, you good?” Akira asks. Ryuji responds by smacking the vending machine. Clearly, he can barely contain himself about whatever he wants to say before Ann gets here.

“That detective bastard from yesterday made me real mad, okay? And the way he was acting all buddy-buddy with you really freaked me out! Like, I know I made that joke about you liking idols, but man did you pick the wrong one! He thinks we’re freaking threats!” If Ryuji were to get any louder, all of Tokyo would probably be able to hear him. Of course he had to bring up Akechi, too. Ann, however, shuts him up real quick with a tug to the ear. 

“You’re being wayyyy too loud,” Ann says through a mouthful of the snack she’s carrying.

“Whatever! It’d be more weird if we’re the only ones here whispering about it, you know?” Ann and Ryuji bicker back and forth briefly, before Morgana pipes up and brings them all back to the present. 

“We need to stay careful, you know. The police are getting involved.” Everyone nods in agreement. 

“But, we should be okay if we keep doing this, right?” Ann says in a worried tone. 

“We can’t let any bullshit stop us from being the Phantom Thieves.” Even with Ryuji’s somewhat soothing tone, Ann still looks worried. 

“There’s still a lot we don’t know, though. Like that Black Mask guy that Madarame mentioned and that Morgana might have seen.” They stand in silence for a few seconds, and then, a camera flash illuminates the area. Akira had totally forgotten. 

“I’m jealous of all the fun you guys seem to be having,” Makoto says. Akira also begins to realize as the rest of the Thieves and Makoto talk to each other, that he really is going to need to be more careful regarding Akechi once she joins them. She’s just as smart as Akechi, and isn’t one to hold her tongue when she thinks something is up. Ryuji says something about the Phantom Thieves being more dependable than Makoto, and Makoto walks off with a slightly dejected hunch in her shoulders. 

Ann shakes her head, “You know what? We can’t let this end now.” And with that strong declaration from her, the warning bell rings. 

“Guess we better go back to class then.”

They part ways, with Ryuji returning to his classroom, and Akira and Ann walking together to theirs. The rest of the day proceeds as normal. Yusuke texts them in the middle of class, asking where they’re going to meet for their celebration later. Akira lets Ann handle it, as Ushimaru’s gotten significantly bolder with his chalk throwing. He still dodges it every time, but it’s still rather annoying. After a while, the bell finally rings, and they can go meet up with Yusuke in Shibuya. 

Yusuke’s still got all his luggage, and is idly reading his phone as they walk up to him. Looks like Akira better warn Akechi not to text him tonight. He doesn’t need both Yusuke and Morgana asking him about who’s texting him. Well, Yusuke probably wouldn’t ask in any direct manner. Well, now Morgana’s invited Yusuke to stay the night, so Akira might as well text Akechi soon. The Thieves unanimously decide that they should go to Leblanc for their celebration, as well as to set Yusuke up in the attic. Their train ride there is calm, with only some quiet discussion about the rankings on the website. Ryuji’s muttering about how much sway Akechi has over their popularity. 

“Well, Akira did spend all evening last night with him,” Morgana says to Ryuji. Ryuji turns to him in shock. Yusuke seems a little bit perplexed, as well. Looks like they forgot to tell him what happened, again. 

“Oh, uh, sorry. Forgot to tell you guys about that. Um, Ryuji, remember when you saw him talking to me when you were coming back from the bathroom?” 

“How could I forget?”

“Well, he asked me for my number, and said he wanted to talk to me again, so I took him up on his offer.” 

“Did Morgana come with you?” Ann asks. Morgana shakes his little head.

“No. Haven’t you guys noticed that I’m not with him whenever he hangs out with you guys?” Ryuji and Ann look back and forth at each other, and then shrug. Guess it hit them both just now.

“But still! He hates our guts!”

Thankfully, Yusuke chimes in, “Ryuji, have you heard the phrase ‘keep your friends close, but your enemies closer?’”

“Yeah, of course?”

“Well, if Akira is able to interact with Akechi and keep tabs on him, it may prove to be beneficial for us.” Bless you, Yusuke. Ryuji can’t argue with that, and they spend the rest of the train ride in silence. 

Sojiro looks fairly startled once his little motley crew walks in. Ann compliments the smell, while Ryuji and Yusuke comment on the cafe’s aesthetic. Sojiro asks Akira who they are, and Ann brightly greets him. After a bit of chatter between the two of them, Sojiro tells Akira to start making coffee. As Akira puts on his apron, Sojiro whispers to him.

“Hey, what ever happened to that kid that was here a while ago? The one with the long hair?”

“Him and I had a bit of a falling out.” Sojiro gives him a nod of understanding, and they serve coffee to Ann and Yusuke. Ryuji idly sucks on his soda. Ann and Yusuke are as complimentary of Sojiro’s coffee as always. Eventually, Sojiro tells them to go hang out upstairs, and they all migrate up there. 

They all settle in, and Yusuke returns to reporting to the rest of them about the current situation they’re in with the media. Ever since Akechi’s comments, there’s been increased publicity, especially negative publicity, regarding them. Ryuji starts getting worked up again, which Morgana takes as a chance to shift the conversation over to what their plans should be regarding their next target. 

“Hey, I know we’re all scrambling to find a target out right now,” Akira says, “but if we rush into things we might have some issues. Plus, we did just defeat Madarame. I wouldn’t be surprised if we have to wait a few days. We can work on smaller stuff for now.” 

“Spoken like a true leader!” Morgana heartily says. He’s glad that he isn’t feeling the same panic he did before. He can tell the rest of them aren’t too convinced, but it wipes some of the worry off of their faces. 

Yusuke’s stomach growling interrupts whatever remaining conversation they were having. Morgana looks genuinely frightened, but Ann’s already thinking of what food they could cook up as she begins eagerly pointing out the portable stove in his room. Finally, it’s hot pot time. Ann, Ryuji, and Yusuke all take off in search of ingredients. Once they’re out of Leblanc, Akira takes a brief detour to the bathroom. 

**June 11th, 20XX**

**4:42 pm**

**Joker: hey so Yusuke is gonna be staying the night so its not the best idea to try to text me today in general**

**Crow: Wasn’t planning on it.**

**Crow: Go enjoy your time with your friends.**

**Crow: And if you’re hiding in the bathroom I have no pity for you.**

**Joker: that was uncalled for**

Akira locates the big pot, and brings it up to his room. He’s setting up the stove just as everyone returns from the store. They spend their time chatting while cooking, and once everyone gets settled in to eat, their real conversations start back up. 

“So, Morgana,” Ann says, “people can only understand you if they’ve been in the Metaverse, right? I’ve been thinking about what Akechi said to us. You know, the pancake comment.” 

“Wait, so that’s why you had that weird look on your face the other day, Ann? I thought you just smelled something weird or something.” 

“Oh, Ryuji, no! Yes, Lady Ann, people should only be able to understand me if they’ve been in the Metaverse.”

“Can someone please fill me in on what happened?” Yusuke asks. Oh boy. 

“Well,” Morgana says, “when we met Akechi, he said something about something only I had talked about. He was also acting kind of off…” 

“And!” Ryuji butts in, “He said something about a Joker during that interview!” 

“I think that was just referencing a funny person, not our Joker.” Ann says. Yusuke sits forward a bit. 

“I watched that interview. He did put a rather strange emphasis on that word.” Thanks, Yusuke. Now they’re going to be even more suspicious of him. Akira really wants to come clean as early as he can, but he doesn’t know how he’ll do it without completely destroying their trust. Plus, there was the issue of him already knowing what’s likely going to happen. If he reveals that after Okumura’s Palace, unless he can figure out some way to stop Akechi from killing Okumura, he’s going to be in a lot of trouble. But if he stops Akechi, then the Thieves will continue to have a huge ego, and where would they be then?

“Hey man, you good?” Ryuji flicks him, bringing him out of his thoughts. Akira realizes he needs to save these musings for another time. 

“Yeah, sorry, just was thinking about things.” He leaves it at that. 

The rest of the evening proceeds as normal. Ann takes her nap, and the boys have a discussion about the past. It’s weird, talking about “the past” because for Akira, so much has happened that punching Shido was the last thing he’d bring up if he were to complain about the things that have happened to him. It still breaks Akira’s heart though when Ryuji describes his past. If there was any adult that probably would have helped them had they known about them, it would be Ryuji’s mom. From what Ryuji’s described of her, she seems like a wonderful lady. 

Ann takes her leave, and the rest of the humans mosey on over to the bathhouse. Morgana had curled up on Akira’s bed, and told them to go on ahead. It would have been pretty funny if the four of them had walked in. He’d come in with Morgana before, but he only came to see Akira if he had passed out or something. 

It’s nice to finally chill out with Yusuke and Ryuji. The old man is here again, cranking up the heat, which Ryuji complains about. Yusuke agrees. Ryuji decides to change the topic.

“So, what do you guys think of Ann? Like, not as a teammate, but as a girl?” Ryuji turns towards Akira, clearly intending for him to answer first. 

“Well, she’s pretty nice.”

“I agree,” Yusuke chimes in, “she's a wonderful person.”

“Oh come on! Is Ann not your type or something? Or, are you not even into girls?” That’s a rather bold question from Ryuji. 

Akira shrugs, “I like who I like.” Ryuji’s about to say something else, when he suddenly jumps out of the tub, shrieking about the temperature. And with that, they decide they should go home. 


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> nice readers get two chapters in a day

Akechi wakes up in a cold sweat. He hasn’t felt this messed up ever since he’d first woken up in this terrible world. And never has he felt this much weight on his chest, every breath of his labored. But he’s safe in his room. Nothing is pressing down on him, nothing is waiting in the shadows with a gun. Yet, the panic remains. He gets up to walk around a little bit. 

He knows he hadn’t visited the Velvet Room in the night, or that anything particularly bad had happened. Well, if anything did, he doesn’t remember. So he walks around some more, and the weight off his body further dissipates. Looks like he won’t need to talk to Akira-.

Something rockets back into his brain. It’s the image of him standing in front of a behemoth of a, well, he can’t really describe it. It’s white and gold, with many wings and arms. Several hexagons cluster around the thing’s waist. Whatever it is, it gives off a radiance that’s both alluring and disgusting. But what’s in front of him is even worse. It’s another huge demon, with a dark color scheme holding a massive gun. In front of it stands Akira with no mask on. His face is dark, but shines with the determination of millions of people. Overhead, the sky is the red of the Metaverse, with the grotesque spines that he had seen in Maruki’s tapes. 

_ Don’t you want the power to defeat, no, surpass him?  _ A booming voice sounds in his head. He freezes. 

“Who are you?” Akechi whispers into the darkness. A deep, muffled laugh is all he gets in response. For the first time in his life, he really hopes he’s just hallucinating this. But that picture had to have been from the Day of Reckoning that Akira had talked about. Since Akira didn’t seem threatened by the thing behind him, then… then the thing behind Akechi had to be Yaldabaoth. Does this Yaldabaoth really think that he wants power now after everything he’s been through? And this “power” that he’s offering probably comes with a steep price. Goddamnit. Everyone just wants to fucking use him. Oh, Akechi, kill him for me. Oh, Akechi, why don’t you be popular? It’ll bring us ratings. 

He wonders how much Yaldabaoth really knows about him. Perhaps he hadn’t seen him in his final moments, let alone the third semester. That god probably only sees his desire for control, but doesn’t see that it’s a want for control over his own life. 

He should probably tell Akira about this. He’d be texting him right now if it weren’t for his warning about Yusuke staying over. It’s better that he keeps this on the down low for now, though. Watching how the rest of the Thieves reacted to his Joker statement was a bit worrying. He thought that they wouldn’t pick up on it, and Akira would just get some temporary embarrassment. And if one of them sees him, or “Crow,” talking crazy about a god of control their suspicion of Akira will only rise. 

But right now he needs to get up off of the floor of the kitchen. He doesn’t even remember going in here, let alone ending up with his back against a cabinet. He really can’t do anything right. He gets up, and shakily goes and gets another glass of water. Maybe he should go take a walk. Then again, if he ended up on his kitchen floor without even realizing it, going out in public might not be the best idea. Once he collects his marbles, he’ll go for a little lap around his apartment building. Hopefully without any more deep demon voices in his head. 

After ten or so minutes, he feels calm enough to get up, and go downstairs. It’s around one a.m., and it’s Sunday, so any of his neighbors that might see him probably won’t remember ever seeing him when they wake up in the morning with a hangover. 

He waits again for the elevator. They’ve added another ugly bouquet of flowers into his floor’s waiting area. There used to be such a pretty vase there, but now his entire building has decided that they need to find all of the ugliest flower arrangements in Tokyo, and concentrate them entirely in this building. The strange blue butterfly clips are on this one, too. Akechi reaches out to remove them from the flowers. He gets two off, and when he reaches for the third one, he swears it wriggles slightly in his fingers. He yanks his hand back.

“What the hell!” Akechi tries to keep his voice down. The butterfly’s wings flap ever so slowly, and makes its way off the plant to hover near Akechi’s face. Akechi must have eaten something real bad last night. 

_ Please… don’t fall for his words…  _ a girl’s desperate voice calls out from somewhere. Now that he thinks about it, he remembers Lavenza turning into a butterfly. 

“Lavenza?” 

_ Please… you must follow your own path… _

Well, looks like he won’t be getting anything out of her. He gives the butterfly a small nod of acknowledgement, and it disappears. He’s had enough weird things happen tonight that he might as well just go home, and go to sleep.

He’ll be talking to Akira about this soon, though. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if i were to be naming chapters, this would simply be called "Akechi's Kitchen Shenanigans"


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> funky fresh phantom thieves text at way too late in the night

**June 12, 20XX**

**3:42 am**

**> SakamotoRyuji created a new group**

**> SakamotoRyuji added KitagawaYusuke and TakamakiAnn**

**> SakamotoRyuji changed their name to Skull**

**> SakamotoRyuji changed TakamakiAnn’s name to Panther**

**> SakamotoRyuji changed KitagawaYusuke’s name to Fox**

**Panther: Ryuji, what’s this all about? Do you even know what time it is?**

**Skull: oh good ur up at least**

**Fox: I’m also awake now as well. Is there something troubling you, Ryuji?**

**Skull: man you got a sixth sense or somethin**

**Panther: I mean not many people suddenly start group chats at three in the morning unless something’s up.**

**Skull: im kinda worried about akira**

**Panther: Did something happen after I left?**

**Skull: no no its nothing liek that he didnt get hurt or anything**

**Fox: Is this about the comments he made about the kinds of people he’s attracted to?**

**Skull: not that either**

**Skull: look i care a lot about the guy hes already saved my ass a couple of times i dont care who he likes**

**Skull: but im worried about him n akechi**

**Skull: akechis been acting real weird towards him**

**Fox: Have you seen the two of them talking?**

**Skull: only a little bit**

**Skull: but like he asked akira for his phone number after talking to him once**

**Skull: plus there was the joker thing**

**Panther: I mean, I can kinda understand the phone number thing?**

**Panther: Akechi-kun seems like someone who doesn’t have a good social life.**

**Panther: But the Joker thing hit way too close for comfort.**

**Panther: There was also the pancake comment that he heard…**

**Fox: Do you think he can use the Metaverse?**

**Skull: he gotta be able to**

**Skull: i mean everyone else just hears mona meowing right**

**Panther: Could he be the black mask Madarame was referring to?**

**Fox: Could be.**

**Fox: After all, we don’t know how many people are out there with the MetaNav.**

**Fox: Or how we even get picked to have the app, for that matter.**

**Panther: We did all get it once we went in with Akira, right?**

**Skull: yeah**

**Skull: but still**

**Skull: akira n akechi already hung out yesterday right**

**Fox: At this point, two days ago.**

**Skull: eh close enough**

**Skull: akechis dangerous tho**

**Skull: ik what you said about keeping ur enemies close yusk but with akechi bein in media if akira accidentally says anything akechi can use it to his advantage**

**Skull: plus akechis got police connections**

**Skull: so were like**

**Skull: double toast**

**Skull: if he finds out our real identities**

**Fox: Are you saying we should tell Akira to keep his distance?**

**Panther: I’m kinda stuck in the middle about this.**

**Panther: I agree with Yusuke about keeping Akechi nearby to keep an eye on him.**

**Panther: But I also agree with Ryuji about how he’s dangerous.**

**Panther: I think he’ll also get sus if we try to tag along with Akira whenever they hang out or something.**

**Skull: akiras a smart guy**

**Skull: but akechi seems slimy**

**Skull: plus theres the fact that akiras a fan of his and akechi immediately got all buddy buddy with him**

**Fox: That is true.**

**Fox: Akechi is a man of the media. He knows what to say that will get him the most popularity.**

**Fox: I also have something about Akira I wish to talk about.**

**Panther: What’s up, Yusuke?**

**Fox: When we were at Leblanc, I heard Boss ask Akira about a “long haired friend.”**

**Fox: Akira then told him that they had a falling out.**

**Skull: i mean**

**Skull: he did just move here**

**Skull: but i havent heard him mention any other friends other than yoshizawa-san that could fit in that category**

**Skull: akechi could fit in that category but akira only met him two days ago**

**Skull: and i cant imagine anyone ever having a falling out with akira**

**Skull: hes too good of a guy**

**Panther: That is pretty weird**

**Panther: I wonder why Akira doesn’t tell us? T-T**

**Panther: We all confide in him about our issues but he only just started opening up to us last night.**

**Fox: There may be some degree of insecurity here.**

**Fox: Still, I cannot help but wonder who that ex-friend of his could be.**

**Fox: It seems as if Akira is getting up.**

**Fox: I must stop texting.**

**Fox: Goodnight, my fellow Thieves.**

**Skull: night bro**

**Panther: Good night!**


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yusuke is a very nice boy who just wants the best for his friends

Akira sits up in bed, his head splitting in pain. He can vaguely see Yusuke flipping through his phone on the couch, but everything else is a hazy mess. Akira can tell Morgana hasn’t moved in the slightest because of Akira getting up. He sits like this for a minute, his head resting in one of his hands. Faintly, he can hear the sound of Yusuke shuffling on the couch. 

“Akira?” Yusuke whispers, “Are you all right?” 

“Not really, but it’s nothing. Did I wake you up?” Akira hears Yusuke give an exasperated sigh in response. 

“Are you sure about that?” Yusuke says in an almost accusatory tone, “You know you can talk to us about any troubles you may have.”

“Thanks, but I’m fine. I just think I had a bad dream that I don’t remember.” Yusuke seems satisfied by this, and Akira watches the silhouette of his body lay back down. Akira probably did have a bad dream, but that still doesn’t explain the blinding headache he’s got. Maybe he just needs some water. He heaves himself out of bed, causing another lash of pain. Taking a minute to let the stars fade from his vision, he desperately tries to remember what he could have possibly dreamed about. No dice. Maybe if he gets moving around a little bit. Still nothing. He gives up, and walks downstairs. 

Leblanc at four in the morning with the lights off is rather eerie. The various coffee makers cast odd shadows, and the soft light from outside gives the front area a rather strange glow. Akira’s not one to be scared of the dark, but after that dream he had before Maruki’s twisted reality set in, dark areas aren’t his favorite. He finds the lightswitch that turns on the least lights possible, and grabs the nearest coffee mug. He quickly fills it with water, and lies down in one of the booth seats. The water helps his headache a little bit, but it still almost feels like he’s been shot in the head or-.

Oh, that’s what he’s forgetting. Several images come back into his mind, one of them being him lying on the interrogation table, blood pooling under his head. Another one is an image of the Phantom Thieves being interviewed on the news, with several celebratory headlines about them on screen. Everyone in the audience has frighteningly wide smiles, and there’s almost a fervent sense of worship coming from them. A final image flashes through his mind. It’s Satanael and Yaldabaoth standing side by side, with two shadowy human figures in front of them. 

Akira shakes his head. All of the images disappear from his mind, and his headache fades. He sits in silence, sipping his water, and processing the things he just saw. Obviously, they’re some sort of illusion made by Yaldabaoth. Yaldabaoth had never gotten this bold, at least up until he had revealed himself, last time.

“Akira, are you sure you’re okay?” When did Yusuke come down here? Akira certainly hadn’t heard him come down the stairs, nor had he seen him walk down the aisle between the booths and the counter to stand almost right next to him. He sits up, and puts his elbows on the table.

“To be honest, Yusuke, I’m really not. But I’m not sure if you or any of the Thieves could help me out.”  _ At least not yet,  _ he thinks. Yusuke looks concerned.

“Well, I came down because it seemed like you were taking an awfully long time, and then I saw you just lying there for about 5 minutes.” Was he really out for that long? He doesn’t know how to respond to Yusuke, so he simply trains his eyes on the empty coffee mug in front of him. 

“One last question,” Yusuke says softly, “Is this about Akechi in any way?” Well, looks like they’re onto him. 

“No,” Akira lies again. What a shocker. This has everything to do with him and Akechi. But Yusuke seems satisfied, and whispers to Akira a quiet “good night,” before he goes back upstairs. Akira stays in the booth. He doesn’t feel much motivation to go put his glass away. But at least he has his phone in his pocket, so he can screw around with that. He should probably text Akechi soon, but for now, he idly scrolls through random social media pages. There’s not much else he can do, anyway. It is four in the morning, after all.

After a few minutes, he finally decides to bite the bullet, and text Akechi.

**June 12, 20XX**

**4:17 am**

**Joker: i need to talk to you**

**Crow: I need to talk to you.**

The coincidental timing is almost funny to Akira. Looks like Yaldy likely didn’t limit his weird nighttime prophetic visions to just Akira. 

**Crow: Wow.**

**Crow: If we’re texting at the same time I’m assuming we’re asking about the same thing.**

**Joker: well did yaldabaoth give you any weird visions or dreams**

**Crow: I am assuming that big shiny bastard was Yaldabaoth?**

**Joker: yeah**

**Joker: id rather talk about this in person**

**Crow: Will the jazz club work for you?**

**Joker: rather talk about this asap**

**Joker: diner in shibuya?**

**Crow: I guess so.**

**Crow: Also, Lavenza spoke to me.**

**Joker: interesting**

**Joker: im assuming that she will talk to me soon**

Right on cue, the soft sound of bells and the glittering blue butterfly form of Lavenza lands on the table in front of him. 

“Hello,” Akira respectfully whispers. 

_ Please do not listen to his tricks and delusions… they will only lead humanity to certain ruin…  _

“I won’t. I serve you and Igor,” Akira keeps his voice as low as he possibly can. 

_ Good… you are humanity’s light… please… do not falter…  _

And then Lavenza disappears. Akira picks up his phone to see a couple new texts from Akechi. 

**Crow: Considering that she is speaking to me now, a lot more has changed than we thought.**

**Crow: We need to remain vigilant.**

**Joker: indeed**

**Joker: speaking of lavenza she just came to warn me about yaldy**

**Crow: Yaldy?**

**Joker: yaldabaoth**

**Joker: but less of a mouthful**

**Crow: I know that, but that’s a rather juvenile nickname to give to a literal god.**

**Joker: considering i shot said god in the face i think i can call that “big shiny bastard” whatever i want**

**Crow: I guess.**

**Crow: We’re meeting at the diner at 9 am.**

**Joker: oki doki**


	25. Chapter 25

Akechi wishes that he didn’t have the little problems of Yusuke staying at Leblanc and Futaba’s surveillance of the cafe. If it weren’t for them, and that cat, he’d haul himself out to Yongen-Jaya right now. But Futaba doesn’t need to overhear another one of their little conversations, and the two other Thieves physically in the cafe don’t need to hear him banging on the door at 5 am. It’s Sunday, so he doesn’t have much to do other than get himself ready to go see Akira. Sundays are also blessings due to Shido’s nasty habit of partying on Saturdays, so Akechi won’t have to worry about his phone blowing up with that bastard’s orders. 

It’s still way too early for him to go anywhere than a 24 hour convenience store, so he returns to his kitchen for the second time tonight. He apparently knocked him some things over in his Yaldabaoth-induced visions. So, he takes some time to clean up the things that have fallen, as well as other random cups and what not strewn around. He really hasn’t bothered to keep this place clean. Whatever, he really only ever comes here to sleep. Generally, he wakes up, goes and takes a shower, and gets the hell out of here. In times like these, he realizes how boring his apartment is.

At least he’s got a coffee maker. Sure, the hot crap that comes out of that thing can barely be considered coffee, but it’s got caffeine and that’s all he needs. He’d really prefer a cup of the coffee that Akira makes, though. The minutes tick by agonizingly as he drinks his sludge. He could watch TV, but he’s not in the mood for that overproduced shit. He could also read something on his phone, but social media just gets boring. It’s the same as the TV, but instead of overproduced drama, it’s just sickening perfection. So, he returns to the exciting activity of staring at the wall and choking down whatever the hell’s in his coffee cup.

Eventually, thankfully, it’s around 7 in the morning. He dumps the small remaining dregs of mystery coffee into the sink, and drops the cup in there. At this point, he has more than enough time to walk to Shibuya if he wants to. Being alone with his thoughts while walking might not be the smartest idea, but he also doesn’t want to deal with the trains right now. Plus, he’s back in his normal person disguise, so avoiding super populated areas is a must. He doesn’t want any pictures of him in a tracksuit with his hair pulled back plastered all over a tabloid, where a middle aged writer will squeal about how he’s just like everyone else.

As he walks, his mind drifts back to Yaldabaoth’s offer. At this rate, with Yaldabaoth seemingly talking to Akira too, there was no way that whatever offer he would try to give either of them would be genuine. Power could be fun for a little while, but then he’d be strung up like a doll for the god to play with until it got bored. Plus, it seemed like the reality that Yaldabaoth saw him in is one where Akira betrays him, or vice versa. Akechi knows at this point he has no reason to betray Akira, and Akira knows full well what can happen if he betrays Akechi. But, it’s not like Akira ever would. The bastard saved Akechi’s life, and was able to somehow get him to open up to someone in an honest way. Akira’s definitely the only person he can lean on, here. 

Akechi shows up to the diner at around 8:30. It’s rather sleepy at this time of day, with a few stray partiers from last night sitting around, and some students studying together. Akechi can see why Akira picked this place. It’s not weird for two high schoolers to be hanging out, but at this time of day there aren’t enough people to be worried about. Akechi gets one of the more secluded booth seats, and texts Akira that he’s here. While he waits, he orders a muffin. 

A few minutes later, Akira walks in. Akechi watches him look around for a few moments before he spots him, and Akira makes his way over to the seat.

“What’s with the ponytail?” Akira says as he sits down. Akechi gives him an annoyed look.

“And good morning to you, too,” Akechi says snidely. Akira gives him a slight smirk, and gets fully settled into the booth seat. Akechi reaches up to his hair, and pulls his hair tie out. No point in having it tied up now that he’s inside. Strangely, Akira looks slightly disappointed. 

“So, uh,” Akira’s charisma melts off his face, “well, you know what we’re here to talk about.”

“Well, since you seem apprehensive, why don’t I go first.” Akira nods, and Akechi explains how Yaldabaoth had shown him using Yaldabaoth’s power in a battle against Akira. Akira confirms that the scene in the vision is of the Day of Reckoning. Akechi also relays what Lavenza said to him.

“That’s all?” Akira says after Akechi finishes. 

“What do you mean, ‘that’s all’?” Akira looks over to the side of the table a little bit. 

“Well, I woke up with a really bad headache, and remember how your memory triggered when you thought about me?”

“Of course…?”

“Well, my memory triggered when I compared my headache to getting shot in the head.” Akechi instantly feels himself become enraged, and very, very guilty. He hates that he almost enjoyed doing that job, and hates that he did it, and hates that Akira seems so oddly forgiving. But this is the angle that Yaldabaoth is trying with Akira. 

“That shithead!” Akechi says a bit loudly. Akira sits in silence for a minute, watching Akechi stew. 

“If you’re already this upset, I think it would be best to skip the first one.”

“ _ FIRST  _ ONE?” So this so-called god now thinks that if he can’t get Akechi, he’s gonna harass Akira? No way in hell either of them would be bending to that fuckers will.

“Hey, hey, hey. Calm down a little bit. I didn’t expect you were gonna care this much.” Akechi tries to relax, and once Akira seems satisfied, he continues with his story. 

“Well, the first one was just what happened immediately after you shot me,” Akechi notices that he’s intentionally leaving out details, but they both know exactly what he’s talking about, “In the second one, I assume it's what would have happened if I accepted Yaldy’s deal, because the Thieves were on the news and everyone was almost… worshipping us.”

“He really does think the addled masses need an idol.” 

“Yeah. It’s kind of sad, to be honest. Now, after you talked about yours, my third one is kind of contradictory.”

“Hit me with it.”

“You and I were standing side by side, and I had Satanael behind me-”

“Who?”

“A persona of mine that evolved from Arsene during the fight against Yaldy because the public began supporting us. But anyway, I had Satanael, and you had Yaldy behind you. Not sure if you had taken him as a persona or anything, but-”

“Wait, so in this one, the masses both fully support the Thieves, and they support the god of control?”

“Honestly, I don’t have any clue. At that point Yusuke started shaking me so nothing else happened.” Both of them sit in contemplation for a few minutes. 

“I don’t know what to make of it,” Akechi says, “He’s blatantly attempting to manipulate us, which is supported by the fact that Lavenza visited both of us immediately afterwards… I don’t believe he’ll directly try to intervene, but if he starts subtly manipulating us or other people, we’re going to have trouble.”

“Exactly. Plus, my friends are starting to get a little suspicious of us. Yusuke asked me if my headache or current problem that he wouldn’t understand has anything to do with you.” Akechi snorts. 

“They already think I’m that much of a problem, huh? Anyway, do you want anything?” Akechi’s asking because it’s a bit weird for one person to have only a muffin, and the other person to have a glass of water. 

“I guess something would be fine.” Akira flags down a server, and orders a muffin as well. There isn’t much to say now, and Akechi’s still processing both Yaldabaoth’s messages and the new information that the Thieves are catching on. Just as Akechi’s about to ask about the Phantom Thieves again, someone’s voice calls from behind him. 

“Wait, Kurusu? Is that you? What are you doing here?” Akechi stiffens. It’s not a voice he recognizes, but if they’re addressing Akira in that way it’s someone that Akira knows at least. 

“Oh, hi Mishima. I’m just hanging out.” Could he have said anything so blatantly generic and defensive. Akechi looks up at this “Mishima.” He’s vaguely familiar, but other than that he’s got nothing. Mishima’s staring back at Akechi rather intensely. Maybe Akechi should have kept his hair up, or had his hood on. 

“Hey, wait… you’re that Akechi guy! Kurusu, why are you hanging out with a guy like him?” Oh, so he knows about the Thieves. Great. Akechi rests his chin on his hand. 

“Is there a problem with that, Mishima-kun?” Akechi sees Akira shudder slightly out of the corner of his eye. Must be because Akechi’s using the TV voice. 

“Um! Uh.. no! No problems with that at all, Akechi-san! I-uh, I gotta go now! See you at school, Kurusu!” Mishima bolts off, and Akechi and Akira both heave a sigh of relief. 

“I really hate it when you use that voice, you know.” Akira says.

“Oh, I can tell. Who was that, any way?”

“That was Yuuki Mishima. He’s in my class, and the Phan-Site admin.”

“Makes sense why he reacted like that now. I thought he was just someone you told about the Phantom Thieves.”  
“I didn’t even tell him! He just walked up to me one day and got way too close to me and was like ‘hey are you guys the Phantom Thieves?’ But I still appreciate him for the work he does.” Akira picks at the muffin the waitress has just placed in front of him. Akechi supposes he should thank Mishima for lightening the mood. After some idle chatter as Akira finishes his muffin, they both get ready to leave. 

“Oh, by the way, I’m gonna be busy getting blackmailed over the next few days.”

“That sounds like fun. Is Makoto the one doing that?”

“Yup.” 

And with that, Akechi leaves to go catch the train, and Akira walks off to god knows where. Hopefully, a certain god of control isn’t the one who knows.


	26. Chapter 26

Akira’s sitting in class, bored out of his skull. He really can’t do anything but wait for Makoto to come ask him about the Thieves, and then subsequently blackmail them. Just another average week. Morgana’s snoring away in his desk as Ushimaru yammers on endlessly. There’s no point in listening to him, but since this is Ushimaru, he can’t exactly just sleep the class away. So he looks around a bit. Ann is intensely focusing on the lecture. She did mention when they were hanging out that part of her plan to become the next top model was to get better scores. Akira’s proud of her, and probably shouldn’t disturb her. Some of his other classmates are whispering to each other, but stop once they notice that he’s looking at them. The guy behind him twiddles his thumbs, and looks away when Akira glances in his direction. Honestly, Akira kind of wants to thank the guy for not once questioning or snitching on Akira for making molotovs and lockpicks during class. 

Akira turns his eye on his next person to stare at. That person in question is Mishima, who is staring directly back at him. Mishima’s got a weird look on his face that Akira really can’t describe. As soon as Akira makes eye contact with him, Mishima makes a big show of looking away. Akira can see the red glow of the Phan-site on his phone from the inside of his desk. Not surprising. He doesn’t know if Mishima ever got any moderators for his site. He’s almost always on it, anyway. 

The rest of the morning passes without any chalk assaults or weird looks from Mishima. Akechi sends him a few texts declaring his boredom, which Akira responds to with a simple “same.” When the bell for lunch rings, Ann follows Akira out of the room. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Mishima packing up and heading their way. Just great. If he asks about Akechi, and if he overheard even a bit of their conversation, Akira’s toast. Ryuji’s waiting for him and Ann next to the stairs. Ann and Ryuji both begin animatedly discussing how boring their classes are, while Akira watches Mishima get closer and closer. Akira turns his head, and from down the hallway another threat emerges. 

Makoto is walking this way, likely with the intention to tell Kawakami that she needs to talk to Akira after school. With Mishima and Makoto closing in on both sides, he feels like he’s stuck in a vise. The only way that he can possibly escape this is by bolting down the stairs. That would be a totally smart, not-at-all suspicious move. Ann and Ryuji don’t seem to notice his rising panic, thankfully. 

Mishima gets to the group first, but Makoto’s already well within earshot. 

“So, Kurusu, as manager of all things related to the Phantom Thief media presence,” Akira turns to him, but sees Makoto creep ever closer, “I demand to know why you were hanging out with you-know-who the other day!”

“Wait!” Ryuji interjects, “Were you hanging out with-.” Ryuji gets cut off by Makoto’s sudden entrance to the conversation. 

“What’s this about the Phantom Thieves, now?” Ryuji just about jumps out of his pants, while Ann tries to feign ignorance. Mishima gets a fairly panicked look on his face. But Mishima’s a braver, or stupider man, than Akira, and he takes the option to bolt down the stairs. The rest of them watch him sail off.

“This- this ain’t what it looks like, okay?” Ryuji says desperately, which earns him a nice jab to the stomach from Ann. 

“Oh, then what is it, Sakamoto-kun?” Makoto says. Damn, Akira forgot just how deadly her voice could get. Ryuji scowls, but Akira cuts him off before he can say anything. 

“Niijima-senpai,” Akira says plainly, “I believe I already know what this conversation is going to be about. Why don’t we all go somewhere not so out in the open?” Ryuji makes a noise of amazement.

“You really have been spending too much time with him,” Ann comments. Makoto looks confused, but quickly gets back on track. 

“Let’s go up to the roof. You better follow me.” Akira walks behind her, and after expressing their annoyance, Ann and Ryuji follow as well. Morgana keeps muttering about how they screwed up from inside the bag. He’s just loud enough for Akira to hear, but not loud enough for anyone else to. 

“So,” Makoto says, “why don’t I get straight to the point. What did you do to Mr. Kamoshida and Madarame?” Ryuji and Ann quickly look back and forth at each other.

“I said it ain’t us! We can’t explain cause we aren’t the Thieves!” Ryuji exclaims. 

“Well then, why don’t we listen to this?” Makoto plays her recording of the Thieves. Ann and Ryuji start bickering about how “Ryuji should have been more careful,” and that “it’s not just his fault cause Ann’s on the recording too.” 

“So, how do you do it? Blackmail? Some form of manipulation? Can you tell me?” 

“No idea what you’re talking about,” Akira says. 

“You’re really going to say that? Based on what those two are saying now, plus this recording, I can almost guarantee that you three are the Phantom Thieves. But what if I were to show the police this recording?” Well, considering how much pull Akechi has right now in this case, Akira could probably politely ask him to make it disappear. But that would be Akira’s last ditch option. 

“What’s your goal here anyway, Miss Council President? Trying to protect this school’s reputation while they don’t even protect their students?” Ann says. Makoto looks frustrated.

“I- I know, okay. But, I want you to verify this justice you speak of.” 

“Huh?” Ann and Ryuji say this in unison. 

“We might as well go tell Yusuke, then.” Akira says. He feels his phone start ringing in his pocket. It’s Akechi calling from his burner phone. He can’t exactly answer right now, so he’s about to hit the end call button when Makoto cuts in. 

“It’s okay, you should probably answer that.” Looks like it isn’t gonna be Ryuji’s phone call that screws him over this time. He shakily answers it. 

“Any reason why you’re calling me instead of texting?” 

“Meet me in Shibuya as soon as you can. Alone.” Akechi hangs up. Well that was weird and needlessly cryptic. He’ll need to text him in class or something. Makoto gives him a quizzical look. Guess she just wanted to overhear his call to see if the other person said anything incriminating. But Akechi talked so quietly Akira could barely hear him, let alone anyone around him. 

“Well, take me to Yusuke after school, if he’s one of the Thieves too. If not, I’m reporting all of you immediately.” With that, Makoto walks down the stairs and leaves the rooftop. Ryuji and Ann are still fuming, and meanwhile Morgana is both panicking and trying to act as damage control. Thankfully, the warning bell pulls them out of their thoughts, and they all return to class. It’s Kawakami’s class, so Akira feels a lot safer about slacking off here. Morgana’s back asleep. 

**June 13, 20XX**

**1:14 pm**

**Joker: so what was that all about**

**Crow: Sorry about that.**

**Crow: This phone was dead and I couldn’t get the other one to send texts.**

**Crow: I know Makoto is doing her thing currently, but I still need to talk to you.**

**Crow: It’s about those twins.**

**Joker: what are my kids asking you to do**

**Crow: “Your” kids?**

**Joker: considering they make me baby sit them**

**Joker: they kinda are**

**Crow: …**

**Crow: Alright then.**

**Crow: They’re both begging me to take them places too.**

**Crow: The thing I was going to ask you about was why does the Velvet Room glow red sometimes?**

**Joker: fusion alarm**

**Joker: you can make better personas then**

**Joker: but it also fucks up like 90% of the time**

**Joker: makotos interrogating/blackmailing us in the walkway hideout today**

**Crow: I may stop by.**

**Joker: that probably wont end well**

**Joker: mishima busted us hanging out**

**Crow: I swear to god.**

**Crow: I also was joking about stopping by.**

**Crow: I will be trying out this “fusion alarm” now.**

**Joker: cool**

**Joker: kawakamis staring at me bye**

**Crow: Goodbye.**

The rest of the day ticks by, and eventually, they get to talking to Yusuke in Shibuya. The conversation goes rather normally, except she asks them this time to pursue the target that she wants, on condition that she’ll report them if she doesn’t. So, now she’s doing this conversation a day early. Great. Seems like any time he hangs out with Akechi something happens. But eventually, they strike a deal, and Makoto leaves. The rest of the Thieves make their way back to the diner, where they discuss the current situation. Akira really wishes he could just tell them the target, but he doesn’t know what would happen if he says that now. So, he just listens to Yusuke admonish Ryuji while Ryuji begs for forgiveness. They’re also all worrying about Makoto’s two week deadline, another thing Akira wants to tell them that they don’t need to worry about. 

Eventually, they wrap up, and Akira checks his phone. There’s more texts from Akechi, asking him to come to Big Bang Burger. Seems like Caroline and Justine want to be shown around. Plus, it’s a prime opportunity to see if they also disappear when both Akira and Akechi are in the same room. So, Akira takes Morgana home, and then makes his way back to Shibuya. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i couldnt let my boy ryuji be the one that busts them again


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> akira dies of burger poisoning

Akechi’s moseying his way over to the Velvet Room door in Shibuya. When he was in the Velvet Room in the Metaverse, after finishing up his fusions and giving the twins the personas they wanted, they requested for him to take them outside. Caroline had been pretty mad at him the whole time for some reason when the twins were requesting this of him, though. However, when he had checked his phone after he left the Metaverse, he had 112 missed calls, all of them from numbers with no caller ID. Considering the Velvet Room’s egregious disregard for the rules of reality, it’s not much of a stretch to think that they could use phones. But it seems like the twins don’t realize that there isn’t cell service in the Metaverse.

So here he is now, making his way to the Velvet Room to fulfill his promise of taking the twins to a “popular food place that simulates the feeling of being in space,” as Justine had said. This could pretty much only mean Big Bang Burger. Akechi really doesn’t enjoy that place, but he doesn’t want to get on the bad side of these kids. At least he was able to invite Akira to come along. But who knows how they’d react. Firstly, it appears as if Akira should be the one taking them to these places, but now it’s Akechi’s turn to do so. Secondly, Akechi doesn’t want them to randomly disappear from existence once Akira shows up. That would look bad.

“You’re late, Inmate!” Caroline says in that shrill voice of hers. She’s back on top of the door. Akechi wonders if any one else can see them. If people can, it must be very odd seeing a small child floating above another small child in a dark alleyway. If people can’t, well, then he’s gonna look a bit odd talking to empty space. He watches Caroline smoothly flip off of the door, landing next to Justine. 

“I assume you remember where you are to take us?” Justine says. Akechi nods. God, he hopes Akira gets here soon. Akira did say he was going to be a bit late because he had to drop Morgana off at home, but still. Akechi starts leading them to Big Bang Burger. Caroline and Justine keep a close distance to him, probably because if they get lost, Akechi doesn’t know how easily they can get back to the room. 

They walk in, and the lady at the counter greets them cheerfully. One of the reasons he doesn’t like this place is the forced retail fakeness. It reminds him a bit too much of whenever he’s on TV, so he probably won’t be getting any retail jobs any time soon. Akechi orders for himself, and prays that the twins don’t notice the Big Bang Challenge. 

“Oh, you two are so cute! What would you like to eat today?” The cashier squeals. Looks like that answers that question of whether or not the general public can see the twins. The twins look over the menu. 

“The most impressive one you have!” Caroline declares.

“Two Big Bang Burgers, please,” Akechi cuts in. The cashier takes Akechi’s money, and cheerfully tells him that “your food will be coming right up!” She hands him a small number sign, and Akechi and the twins go off in search of a table. They find one with a view of the street outside, and settle in. This way, Akechi can keep an eye out for when Akira bothers to come around. Caroline and Justine sit with their backs to the window. 

“So, Inmate, why do people like this place? You seem uncomfortable,” Justine says. Looks like Akechi was wearing his emotions on his sleeve. 

“Ah, well, I think it’s a bit loud here, but that’s just me. People like it cause it’s cheap, fast, and tastes okay.” Akechi says this a bit absent-mindedly, as a familiar boy is finally making his way over to here.

“Inmate! What’s so interesting over there?” Caroline turns around to look out the window, getting up on her knees because she’s just slightly too short. She jumps back slightly in surprise.

“Caroline? What is it?” The door bell chimes as Akira walks in. Akechi watches him quickly scan the restaurant before their eyes meet, and Akira makes his way over to them.

“Justine, look! It’s the other Inmate!” Akira gives them a small wave. He finishes making his way over, and sits down in the chair next to Akechi. Both of the twins seem fairly surprised. 

“It’s nice to see you guys! Oh, and I have a Phoenix with High Counter now.” Akira says this with a smile. The twins are still flabbergasted. Justine turns to Caroline.

“Do you think it’s some sort of fate that our Inmates both showed up here tonight?” 

“No, I asked him to come here,” Akechi cuts in. Caroline’s about to say something, but one of the employees comes around and drops off the food. Akira turns to him after the food has been all passed out.

“What, nothing for me? I’m going to perish because of this, Goro-kun,” Akira says, his voice drenched in mock hurt. Akechi throws his bag of fries at him.

“Well it looks like  _ somebody’s  _ rather snarky tonight,  _ Akira, _ ” Akechi shoots back. Akira grins at him. Cheeky bastard. Caroline and Justine are watching their conversation rather intently while they eat their food. 

“You wound me so,” Akira says. Caroline’s staring at the small menu trifold with a gleam in her eye.

“Inmate, these “burgers” as you call them are rather puny. From the name, we were expecting something of cosmic proportions.” Justine says. Akechi watches Akira’s eyes go wide. 

“Don’t tell me you’re gonna make me do that in front of Akechi-”

“Well, Inmate, this ‘Big Bang Challenge’ looks rather interesting! What does it entail? I want to see you take that challenge, even if you have to beg for it!” Caroline cuts Akira off. 

“Well, I guess you’re going to actually perish now, Kurusu.” Akechi says. Akira begrudgingly waves over one of the servers, and asks them to bring the challenge burger. He shows her a small badge, and she nods, before she scurries off to the back. 

“I promised to myself I wasn’t ever going to do this again, and look where we are now…” Akira puts his head in his hands. 

“Oh, Caroline? Since both of the inmates are here, what should we call them?” Justine says. Looks like they’re trying to have a nice conversation before they get to watch Akira suffer. 

“Why not number them? Inmate 1 and Inmate 2?” 

“That works! Hey, Inmate 1, is that the burger you’re gonna eat?” Akira turns to look behind him, where he sees one of the servers holding the plate with the towering burger. Akechi’s pretty horrified by the size of it. It just seems like a massive waste of food. The twins seem scared by it as well. 

“You-You’re really going to do this?” Caroline exclaims. 

“I guess I am,” Akira says, and as soon as the server says he can start, he starts eating. It’s scary to watch him just put away food like that. But, eventually he begins to slow, taking only a few bites. After he’s almost 75% of the way through the burger, Akira puts it down, and puts his head on the table, his body stilling. After a few seconds of this, Akechi lightly reaches out and touches him on the back, checking to see if Akira’s still breathing. If Akira died because he choked on a burger, Akechi would be embarrassed that he ever chose to associate with him. Akira makes a groaning noise. 

“You’re an idiot, you know,” Akechi says to him. Akira nods.

“The Inmates have a rather interesting relationship, don’t they, Caroline?” 

“Huh?” Akira and Akechi say in unison. However, the huh from Akira might have just been another groan of pain. 

“You’re right, Justine. They act like they hate each other, but then they seem to actually care.” 

“Don’t you know what sarcasm is? Especially you, Caroline,” Akechi says. 

“Of course I do!” Caroline says while she gives him an offended look. Akira finally sits back up, his face contorted in some form of embarrassment and pain. He glances out the window, and for the second time tonight, he gets a fairly worried look on his face. 

“Uh, bad news- god my stomach  _ hurts _ \- but Makoto just saw me I think,” Akira puts his head back down. 

“You mean Makoto Niijima? What could she be doing here?” 

“Probably looking for stuff regarding our next target.” Well, if she comes in now, she’ll be greeted by a particularly funny sight. The leader of the mysterious Phantom Thieves passed out next to a burger, their sworn enemy Ace Detective Prince Goro Akechi patting his back, and two elementary school looking kids in prison warden outfits. Speaking of them, the twins reach out for the remnants of his burger, and start digging in. Makoto apparently realized that the person she saw was actually Akira, and now is coming into Big Bang Burger. Akechi thinks that she’s making a rather dumb decision. After all, what could she really even learn right now. She walks over to their table. 

“Oh, wait, you’re Sae-san’s sister, right?” Akechi says to Makoto as she approaches. She looks just as surprised about the current scene as Akechi had anticipated. 

“Yes, I am? What’s... going on here, Akechi-kun?” He’s glad the twins are more invested in the burger and chatting amongst themselves while observing the situation. 

“Oh, well Akira here tried the Big Bang Challenge,” Akechi instantly chides himself for using Akira’s given name. Akechi’s definitely sure Akira doesn’t want any Phantom Thieves, future members included, realizing that they know each other as more than just acquaintances that go play pool sometimes. Akira confirms this by flinching slightly under Akechi’s hand when Akechi says that. 

“I can see that. Who are those kids?” Akira sits up again, and takes over the lies. 

“They’re my neighbor’s kids. I watch them every so often.” Akechi watches the twins give Akira a curious, skeptical look, but they don’t say anything.

“Well, I was going to come in and ask if your investigation is making progress,” Makoto gives a leery look at Akechi, “I told you you only have two weeks, otherwise you know what will happen.” 

“I know, I know,” Akira says. Makoto nods, turns on her heels, and walks out. 

“Inmate 1! Why’d you lie?” Caroline says as soon as Makoto’s out of earshot. 

“She doesn’t know about the Metaverse yet, and none of the Thieves know about the Velvet Room,” Akira says matter-of-factly. Akechi knew that Akira’s been spinning far too many lies, but this is the first time Akechi’s gotten to witness it for himself. 

They sit talking to each other for a while while they wait for Akira’s stomach to settle. Akechi really doesn’t want them to get up and walk out, only for Akira to puke everywhere or something. But eventually, Akira tells him he feels fine enough to go home, and after escorting the twins back to the disappeared Velvet Room door, Akira goes off his separate way. Akechi watches him walk away, and once Akechi can no longer see him, the door reappears in a flash of blue. 


	28. Chapter 28

Akira’s life is relatively hectic for the next few days. He has barely any time to really process what went down between him and Akechi. It’s the nicest Akechi has been while not putting on his act for the public, but that’s something to worry about later. After all, Makoto has had them running all around Shibuya, trying to find Kaneshiro by talking to the shadiest people imaginable. Akira thought this plan was dumb and ill-thought out last time, and it’s working just as well this time. Eventually, they have to reconvene at a karaoke place to talk over their current situation. Yusuke ends up asking if they have any other possible sources, and Akira brings up Ohya. They shoot her an email. Thankfully, she responds rather quickly, and now it’s time for Ryuji and Akira’s little field trip to Shinjuku. 

Ryuji’s in his school uniform again. Hopefully, they don’t get busted by the cops when they get to Shinjuku. Sadly, that isn’t the case, and the officer on patrol catches notice of Ryuji’s uniform pants. After a mad dash, Akira and Ryuji try again. As they make their way to Crossroads, Chihaya stops them, and begs to read their fortunes. They’re busy, but Akira makes a mental note that he needs to come back here as soon as possible. They finally successfully make their way to Crossroads after they’re stopped a few more times by random hosts. Only Akira goes in, and is greeted by the familiar faces of Lala and Ohya. Ohya greets him cheerfully, although her voice is heavily slurred, which is to be expected from her. They have a pleasant chat, where they strike their deal. Akira gets her in contact with Mishima, and Ohya tells him Kaneshiro’s name. With that done, they say their goodbyes, and Akira meets back up with Ryuji. Thankfully, they’re able to get out of Shinjuku easily, without getting stopped by those guys like they did last time. Akira’s glad that for whatever reason, the universe has decided to be nice to him and Ryuji today. 

That evening, they check the Nav for Kaneshiro’s Palace, and of course, it’s a hit. The next day, after a bit of finagling with guessing the key words, they enter Kaneshiro’s Palace. It’s just as depressing as it was last time, and watching the ATMs keel over, despite them just being cognitions, is heart wrenching. But there isn’t much else to do here once they notice the bank is up in the air, so they pull out, and wait for the next day. Ohya sends him a few warning texts regarding Kaneshiro before he goes to bed. Akira thanks her, but has no worries. Changing Kaneshiro’s heart is going to be even easier than last time. 

The Thieves reconvene in the Skyway the next day, where their conversation is interrupted by Makoto. After a few unwarranted insults from the Thieves, Makoto storms off, declaring that she’ll help them find Kaneshiro. Akira never really learned why Makoto got so angry over the Thieves’s comments. Yes, they were mean, but Makoto seems like she has thicker skin than that. He might ask about it later, when they get to know each other better again. Makoto finally calls him when the Thieves get to Central Street, and the whole sequence where they try to hunt her down occurs. 

They all get to the club where Kaneshiro’s lounging about with his goons. Makoto’s pinned on the floor, and Kaneshiro starts being all showy, flashing his money and whatnot. It’s downright vile how gluttonous this man is with his cash. After making a big deal about how he needs to spend money whenever he’s angry, he demands that they give him 3 million yen after 3 weeks. Akira finds this incredibly funny, as he currently has around 6 million yen sitting in the bank. But, Kaneshiro still needs to be taken down, as he’s hurting too many people to count. Plus, Akira doesn’t want to give any money to people like Kaneshiro. Afterwards, Makoto apologizes to them, and the rest of the Thieves stop their insults. After a bit of debilitating, they go back to Kaneshiro’s Palace.

After they enter the bank, Kaneshiro tries to kill them with a surprise attack in the waiting room, but it’s to no avail. Recently, some strange new entries had appeared in his Compendium, all of which required no fee to summon. He had picked one of them, “Izanagi-no-Okami,” which feels oddly familiar despite Akira never seeing anything like this persona before. But he brushed it off. With only a couple hits from Myriad Truths, the mob of demons goes down. 

They rush out of the room once it becomes clear the Shadows aren’t stopping. They almost make it to the exit once again, but they’re stopped by Kaneshiro once more. Makoto finally realizes her justice, and blows away the Shadows around them as Johanna bursts forth. They escape thanks to her busting the door down, and they can finally go home.

Unsurprisingly, it’s been almost complete radio silence once again from Akechi. Akira hasn’t seen him on TV recently, or any tabloid news about him at all, so he can only assume he’s been hiding in Mementos a lot more recently. It’s also a relatively safe time for Akechi to go to Mementos, Akira supposes, as he won’t have to worry about any possible Phantom Thief encounters. 

The rest of the Palace is a breeze, taking them only one day to get through it. Like the rest of the Thieves, Makoto gave Akira a rather strange look when he handed her her new equipment and SP adhesive. 

Once again, it’s finally the day to send the calling card. 

**June 21, 20XX**

**7:12 am**

**Joker: so you definitely know by now that were fighting kaneshiro today**

**Crow: Considering that I had to listen to Shido scream at me on the phone again I am VERY aware.**

**Joker: im sorry :(**

**Crow: Not like you can do anything about it right now.**

**Crow: I do have a plan for dealing with that pesky cognitive version of myself, but we aren’t in shape to deal with that Palace.**

**Crow: Good luck.**

Kaneshiro goes down far too easily. So easily, in fact, that the battle takes less than five minutes. As Kaneshiro lays in his pile of gold bars, blubbering about the strong and the weak, some of the other Thieves take a moment to try to talk some sense into him. It seems to work well enough, but then he begins to talk about the Black Mask. All of the Thieves look back and forth at each other.

“Wait, do you mean the same black mask that Sen- Madarame was talking about?” Yusuke says, but Kaneshiro slumps over, his spirit defeated. The Palace walls begin to crumble, so they’ll have to save that conversation for another time. 

That other time turns out to be only a few hours later. 

**Spooky Scary Phantom Thieves**

**7:16 pm**

**Panther: I can’t stop thinking about what Kaneshiro said….**

**Panther: First we have the person that Morgana saw, and then both Madarame and Kaneshiro say something about someone in a black mask**

**Fox: I also cannot stop thinking about his words.**

**Fox: I have a painting I need to complete very soon and this is distracting me quite a bit.**

**Queen: Wait, what did Morgana see?**

**Joker: apparently when skull and i went to kamoshidas palace for the first time morgana saw someone wearing dark clothing running around in the ceiling.**

**Skull: and he kept askin us if we knew anyone like that**

**Skull: of course we didnt cause that was our first time in the metaverse**

The problem of the Black Mask is only going to become a more urgent issue the closer they get to Sae’s Palace. If Akira were to tell Akechi to not wear his Detective Prince outfit, he’d be busted immediately, but if they waited, they’d have the same problem they had in Shido’s Palace. But it’s still rather far off in the future, so Akira decides that for right now, all he should focus on is a good night’s sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another nice thing about fan fiction is being able to remove scenes in the game you find uncomfortable because it's your story that you can change as you please.


	29. Chapter 29

**June 21, 20XX**

**8:27 pm**

**> Skull added NiijimaMakoto to the group**

**> Skull changed NiijimaMakoto’s name to Queen**

**> Skull changed the group name to One Persona Gang**

**Queen: Ryuji, what is this?**

**Panther: Hi Makoto!**

**Fox: I quite like the chat name, Skull.**

**Skull: i decided it would probs be okay to add queen to this chat**

**Skull: since shes a real phantom theif now**

**Queen: I notice that Akira isn’t in this chat.**

**Queen: Is there a reason for that?**

**Queen: And you didn’t answer my question, Ryuji.**

**Skull: sorry queenie**

**Panther: Ryuji, she can’t see our previous texts.**

**Skull: o**

**Skull: my bad**

**Skull: basically i made this chat cause im real worried about akira**

**Skull: especially with him n akechi**

**Skull: cause hes been acting real weird towards akira and its creeping me out**

**Makoto: Akechi as in Goro Akechi?**

**Fox: The others met Akechi on that trip they took to the TV station.**

**Fox: The person that Akechi was talking to in that interview was Akira, if you saw it.**

**Panther: All of us here have seen them acting pretty strange.**

**Panther: So something is definitely up.**

**Panther: But we don’t know what that something is and it’s making us upset that Akira doesn’t talk to us about this stuff! D:**

**Panther: We’re his friends! We wanna help him if he needs it!**

**Skull: plus theres the fact that akechi can use the metaverse**

**Queen: Okay, you all are going to need to give me a full rundown of the situation.**

**Panther: Basically, apparently when Akira first got the MetaNav, he ended up making a blog post about it, which lead to someone going by the name of “Crow” contacting him**

**Panther: This Crow told him that they should meet in Mementos but when Akira went that person wasn’t there**

**Skull: that couldve been akechi or something**

**Fox: True, however we still have no idea how many people are aware of the Metaverse.**

**Panther: ANYWAY**

**Panther: After that, when we went to the TV station, Akechi overheard Morgana talking, which means that Akechi’s been in the Metaverse AND heard Morgana talking.**

**Panther: And after THAT, when he was asked about what kind of person he likes during the interview, he name dropped Joker while staring at him, which really freaked us out.**

**Panther: After that Akechi asked Akira for his number, and apparently they’ve hung out a few times ever since.**

**Fox: There was also that thing about Boss asking about a long haired friend…**

**Fox: But it’s probably not relevant.**

**Fox: Also, when I stayed the night when we made this chat, Akira woke up and seemed like his mind was in another place entirely…**

**Fox: I agree with Skull, and I worry about him greatly.**

**Panther: Wait wait wait wait**

**Panther: YOU DIDN’T TELL US ABOUT THIS!**

**Fox: My apologies.**

**Queen: Have you guys asked Akira about any of this?**

**Panther: Well..**

**Skull: not really**

**Fox: I tried asking him and telling him that we’re here to help, but he just told me that the Thieves can’t help him with what he’s dealing with.**

**Fox: I am unsure whether or not his problems are directly Akechi related or if there are other factors**

**Panther: :(**

**Skull: also it seems like him n akechi hung out again a few days ago and mishima caught them.**

**Panther: Oh right!**

**Panther: Mishima sprinting down the stairs to get away from Makoto was pretty funny**

**Queen: I was wondering why he did that.**

**Queen: I also have a confession of my own to make about Akira.**

**Skull: what happened**

**Queen: So on the day I blackmailed you guys, which I am still very sorry about, I was doing some investigation of my own in Shibuya that evening.**

**Panther: Makoto, it’s in the past, and we’re sorry for all of our insults.**

**Queen: Thank you, Ann.**

**Queen: As I was saying, I walked by Big Bang Burger, and I saw Akira and Akechi sitting together.**

**Queen: Akira looked like he was in quite a bit of pain, and later Akechi told me he had taken the Big Bang Challenge.**

**Queen: The two seemed rather comfortable with each other.**

**Skull: wdym**

**Queen: Well, I assume they’re on a first name basis at this point. I honestly thought they were dating or something, with how Akechi was acting towards Akira...**

**Queen: But that’s not the strangest part.**

**Queen: There were these two little girls with them, and both of them were dressed rather strangely. They looked almost as if they were prison guards or something.**

**Panther: 0.0**

**Fox: Excuse me?**

**Skull: they got kids already?**

**Queen: Well, the girls also didn’t seem entirely human, either. I couldn’t tell why exactly, but I just got a feeling. Akira said they were a neighbor’s kids, but he couldn’t have been telling the truth.**

**Fox: I’m very confused.**

**Panther: We NEED to ask Akira about this ASAP!**

**Skull: yeah but how**

**Skull: i dont wanna come out there and end up attackin him or something**

**Skull: hes my bro and he saved my life**

**Skull: i just wanna know why he hides stuff from us**

**Skull: does he think were gonna kick him out or somethin**

**Panther: We’re not doing that!**

**Fox: I owe too much to him…**

**Fox: But it is worrying.**

**Fox: Akira is not a bad person.**

**Queen: We should think about this more.**

  
  



	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, it's been about a month since I started this fanfic, and honestly I'm shocked with the reception it's gotten, and how nice all of you are. This is the first fan fic I've ever written and also the longest thing I've written, and I'm just going with the flow. I deeply appreciate everyone who takes the time to just read this little thing. Thank you all :D

Akechi’s life has been going relatively calmly. He’s been spending most of his time, when he’s not in the Metaverse, with Sae-san. Recently, when he was helping her out with something, he had heard that same girl’s voice declare the birth of the Hierophant persona. After researching the meaning of that arcana, Akechi realized that it was rather fitting. All of the arcana representing his… bonds? Confidants? Well, they’ve been all rather fitting. Especially Shido’s. It’s ironic how much a man who thinks he’s a god fits with being the Devil. 

He almost feels sorry for Sae-san at this point. He’s been watching her struggle with each and every new detail regarding the Thieves. He could easily tell her every detail regarding the Phantom Thieves case, including their future crimes, but he’s not going to do that. Once Kaneshiro confesses, Sae-san’s angrier than ever. Shido is too, as of course, he sees the Thieves’s every action as a direct attack against him. He remembers his distaste for the Thieves truly blossoming here, too. But now, with him being on Akira’s side, he’s indifferent to Kaneshiro’s confession. He couldn’t care less about what the other Thieves do, as long as Akira’s the one who okays their actions.

Shido’s latest office meltdown is in regards to Principal Kobayakawa’s inability to investigate the Phantom Thieves. Apparently, he had received a phone call from Kobayakawa stating that he “was experiencing some difficulties.” Akechi knows he was using students to investigate, because people like Kobayakawa and others that ally with Shido usually don’t bother taking matters into their own hands. They’ll just push it off on someone else, and come crying to Shido requesting a mental shutdown when that someone fails. Pathetic. Considering the timing, Akechi’s willing to bet that one of the students Kobayakawa was using was Niijima. Of course she’d want to stop investigating once she became a thief. 

Akechi also knows that the rest of the members of the Conspiracy, especially the SIU director, have truly begun their set up of the Thieves. After all, their next target is the fake Medjed. At least Shido can be happy about that, and not scream at Akechi again. His next office meltdown will likely be a celebration at this rate. Public love for the Thieves will skyrocket, and then Shido can take down Okumura. The clock hanging over Akechi’s head is ticking. He needs to figure out some way to get Okumura out of the picture. 

Akechi makes another TV appearance, this time discussing the Kaneshiro incident. He keeps sweet to Shido’s script, but peppers in the slightest support. He isn’t going to ever directly come out and say that he stands on the side of the Thieves. But, he states that their ideal of justice may be good, but the way they’re doing it is wrong. At least one tabloid magazine will take it as his support, which is good enough. 

The day after that special airs, he runs into Akira at the train station. Since Akira’s going to school, he definitely has Morgana in his bag, which means more fake personality for Akechi. Akechi’s also begun to notice that Akira has a different personality when interacting with Akechi in front of others, too. It’s dry and straight to the point. He decides he’ll save his complaints about the current conundrum he’s stuck in for later, and instead just politely greets Akira and makes some small talk about Kaneshiro. He has a feeling something else happens today regarding Akira. 

That feeling is answered when he runs into Akira and Yoshizawa chatting in Shibuya Station Square. Sumire greets him brightly, while Akira gives him a solid nod of acknowledgement. 

“Oh, it’s been quite a while… Yoshizawa-san, correct?” Akechi watches Akira’s mask go back on. Is it the same for Akira, when he sees Akechi change into his perfect TV boy mask? It has to be.

“Do you two know each other?” Akira says. Yoshizawa nods enthusiastically. 

“Yep! My father works at a TV station. He’s the director for  _ Good Morning, Japan _ !” Akechi misses when Yoshizawa was Sumire Yoshizawa, and not Kasumi Yoshizawa. Sumire wasn’t as annoyingly enthusiastic. 

Their conversation continues, with both him and Akira acting their roles. With how much Akechi hates being on TV, it’s odd that he decided that he should still be acting during the rest of his time. But it’s a necessary evil. The Phantom Thieves would likely end up with a huge rift in them if they knew the true nature of his and Akira’s past. Hell, the Thieves would likely cease to exist, or begin to rally around Morgana, the former of which being significantly more likely. 

The three of them decide to move on to a cafe that Akechi suggests. He is being truthful when he says it should be a celebration for Yoshizawa-san being picked to be the gymnastics club representative. He’s rather impressed by her dedication to her goals, as well as rather envious of her having the support system that helps her achieve those goals. The only support system Akechi’s really got is Akira. Akira is more than good enough regarding Akechi’s situation, but the secrecy isn’t ideal. 

Once they’re at the cafe, they wait to start their conversation until they get the drinks they ordered. Akechi watches Akira sneak his glass of water under the table, where Morgana eagerly drinks it. Must suck having to be stuck in Akira’s bag all day, especially on a hot summer day like this. After they get their drinks, Akechi starts an idle conversation that he remembers. Akira looks like he’s more relaxed now, as he makes a jab at Akechi for drinking coffee but asking Yoshizawa why she was drinking coffee. 

After a while, the topic of the Phantom Thieves finally comes up, due to Akechi directly asking Yoshizawa about it. Her opinion is the same as it was last time; that the Thieves are in the right, but their actions won’t help in the long run, and people need to change themselves. Rather ironic considering how much she resisted when she changed back to Sumire, and how Maruki treated, or well, as of now, treats her. But, Akechi supposes, she did end up making her own decisions in the end. Akira laughs a little bit. 

“Well, I do suppose that was rather helpful,” Yoshizawa gives him an odd look, but Akechi assumes she’s too polite to actually say anything. 

“Wait, Akira-senpai, are you a fan of the Phantom Thieves?” Akechi watches Akira grimace, and now it’s Akechi’s turn to laugh. 

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to start an argument or anything!” Akechi says. They all bust out in a short fit of laughter. They return to more normal conversation after that. 

A few minutes later, something catches Akechi’s eye. Well, not something. Someone. And even more correctly, somebodies. Things keep changing on Akechi. 

“Hey, Akira?” Fuck. There he goes again, calling Kurusu-kun Akira. Maybe if he stopped mentally calling Kurusu-kun Akira, he wouldn’t slip up like this. Akira doesn’t bat an eye, however.

“What, Goro?” Fuck. Why did Akira have to do that, especially in front of Yoshizawa-san? Then again, she knows when to keep her mouth shut about things. 

“Hm? Is something the matter?” She asks. 

“Oh, it’s nothing really. Did you know that apparently Takamaki and Sakamato are hanging out today?” 

“Huh? What do you mean?” Akechi points behind Akira. Behind him, Takamaki and Sakamoto walk with each other. Akechi then notices Kitagawa trailing slightly behind them. 

“I guess Kitagawa is with them as well,” Akechi says. Akira makes a small nervous chuckle. He can’t say why he’s nervous with Yoshizawa here, but they’d be in significantly worse trouble if it was just Akira and Akechi. Akechi sees Takamaki turn her head while Akira’s looking at them, and then she points at them. She’s too far away for him to make out what exactly she’s saying, but she’s definitely saying something to the boys. 

“Looks like we’ve been spotted,” Yoshizawa says. 

Those three make their way up to them, and Yoshizawa, with her trademark cheerfulness, greets them. Now, Akechi’s thankful for her being here. Another familiar, friendlier face can’t hurt. 

“Hey, what are you guys all doing here?” Takamaki says. Thankfully, Yoshizawa takes control of the conversation. 

“Oh! Well, I ran into Akira-senpai on my way home, and then Akechi-san ran into us, and I told them about me getting to be my gymnastic club’s representative, and then Akechi-san suggested we come here and celebrate!” 

“Damn, really? Congrats, Yoshizawa-san!” Sakamoto enthusiastically says. Akechi watches Morgana pop out of the bag. 

“I think she’s pretty cool!” He meows, before sliding back into the bag. This place does have a rather strict no-pet policy, even with the deck seating. Yoshizawa looks like she’s about to say something, but she suddenly looks at her phone.

“I’m so sorry! Look at the time, it’s getting kind of late. If I stay out too late my parents start getting worried, so I need to go!” And with a stiff bow to Akechi, and then one to Akira, Yoshizawa walks off. Akechi says a quick good luck to her just before she leaves. 

“How are you all doing?” Akechi says rather plainly. He watches Sakamoto and Kitagawa share a wary glance, but it seems like Takamaki is their spokesperson for today. 

“We’re great! It seems like we had a similar idea to you three, cause we all ran into each other and decided to get something to eat.”

“I was rather hungry…” Kitagawa says. 

“Well, I might as well get going myself. I just got a text about a debrief I need to attend. I hope to see you all soon,” Akechi says. What he was really doing was sending Akira a text. 

**July 11, 20XX**

**4:41 pm**

**Crow: Isn’t that a bit weird?**

**Crow: You know, all of them showing up like that.**

**Crow: It would have been weirder if it was all of them, but still.**

**Crow: I fear they may be catching on.**


	31. Chapter 31

Akira’s sitting in class. He’s just finished with his final day of exams, so he deserves a rest. The rest of the Shujin Thieves seem to agree with him, so they all go their separate ways. Morgana stretches out lazily in his bag once they get settled on the train. 

“So, I think you did pretty well!” Morgana says in his quietest, most triumphant voice, “But I think I helped you out a lot, didn’t I? You barely studied!” 

“Yeah, you did,” Akira says politely. He hasn’t had any need to study for a while now. Already knowing all the answers has been massively convenient. Also, he feels significantly more knowledgeable than he was in the past, during the first time around. As he’s riding the train back, Ryuji asks the Phantom Thieves about going to a fair he heard about on the news. It’s in Akira’s best interest to go, as, well, spending time with his friends is nice. Yusuke agrees to go, so it’s a boys trip, just like last time. Hopefully, there won’t be any weird Akechi-related questions, and they can have a nice time together. And maybe, Ryuji won’t get jumped by that news camera crew and make an utter fool of himself again. 

Akira’s rather worried though. Not about hanging out with Yusuke and Ryuji, but about their upcoming mission. He and Akechi have tried limiting their contact with each other to in person only, due to possible Futaba interference. And even with it being in person only, they’re limited to places outside of Leblanc, which runs the risk of running into the other Thieves. Akira wouldn’t be surprised if she’s seen every single one of his conversations. But who knows what she’ll say to the group once she joins them, especially since she overheard the conversation that night. She could end up blackmailing both Akira individually and the Thieves, and possibly Akechi, if she felt like it.   
But right now, Akira can’t do anything but wait, and maybe get a new phone or something. But any piece of tech that Futaba possibly knows about is a liability. So, he goes to the fair with Ryuji and Yusuke. It’s the only thing he can do for now. They have a pretty good time, as this time they showed up early enough that the lines weren’t terrible. Watching Ryuji chow down on every available food option, as well as Yusuke commenting on the artistic merit of Ryuji absolutely obliterating some yakitori on a stick is hilarious in its own right. Akira drops his snow cone again, much to Morgana’s dismay.

“I wanted to try that…” Morgana says once he notices that Akira’s action is irreversible. 

“Dude, unless there’s something different with cats from the Metaverse, I think you would’ve gotten sick,” Ryuji gently reminds him. 

Due to them showing up earlier, they also end up leaving earlier, which means no pesky TV crews ruining their day. They all go their separate ways, and as the day wraps up, Akira makes his way over to Shinjuku to talk to Chihaya. He’s been meaning to ask her to just read his fortune normally, but he’s been getting drawn back into her conflict with the psychic association. Hopefully, today she won’t have another client with her. 

Thankfully, she’s sitting there alone, idly shuffling her tarot cards over and over again. He walks past some of the shady hosts hawking their clubs, and sits down at her seat. She greets him, and asks him if he wants his fortune read or if he wants to do a verification test. He simply asks for a fortune reading, and after she rattles off all the different kinds of fortune telling she can do, he simply asks for her most basic one. After Akira pays, she starts her reading. 

“Well, it’s still just as dire as it was the last time I read it, but it seems as if the Justice Arcana will be very important,”  _ no shit _ , Akira thinks. Of course, that could also mean that something bad regarding Akechi would be happening soon. Chihaya purses her lips. 

“Is something wrong?” Akira asks.

“No, nothing is wrong, really, but the presence of the Hermit is also rather strange…” Akira remembers that Futaba is represented by the Hermit for him. So, nothing terribly shocking there. Chihaya wraps up, and bids Akira farewell. 

As he gets home, his phone blows up with texts about tomorrow’s celebration at the fireworks festival. Akira prays for another stroke of good luck so that they won’t get rained on, but the universe probably won’t let him get away with having fun there. He glances down at his phone, only to notice a text from Ryuji.

**Spooky Scary Phantom Thieves**

**9:18 pm**

**Skull: so joker you wanna bring your detective boyfriend with us**

**Panther: Ryuji!**

**Joker: ?????**

**Joker: this is a celebration for you guys**

**Joker: so i definitely wouldnt bring him along**

**Joker: and besides were not dating**

**Joker: i think**

**Queen: I guess I was mistaken…**

**Joker: sorry about that queen i was dying of burger poisoning when you saw us**

**Skull: …**

**Skull: bruh**

**Skull: whaddya mean you THINK???**

**Fox: Anyway, we are all meeting at Shibuya station at 7:30 tomorrow, correct?**

**Joker: i do think sometimes skull im pretty sure i have a brain**

**Queen: Yes, that’s correct, Fox.**

**Skull: bro not what i meant…**

**Queen: And Joker, if you want to bring Akechi along you’re more than welcome to.**

This is rather unsettling for Akira. Akechi seems to have hit the nail on the head with the Thieves suspecting that something’s up. Especially since  _ Ryuji _ of all people is the person to bring up the topic of him and Akechi. Ryuji’s a nice guy, but he’s always been the first one to accidentally blow their cover. Akira decides to send a cautionary text to Akechi.

**July 17, 20XX**

**9:20 pm**

**Joker: they definitely know somethings up**

**Crow: Did they say anything particularly suspicious?**

**Joker: Sent an image**

**Crow: Interesting…**

**Crow: Looks like I gave your friends the wrong idea.**

**Joker: its fine i needed it i was actually kinda dying**

**Crow: It seems like they want to keep tabs on us, but I do agree that this is a celebration of the Thieves.**

**Crow: I am fairly entertained by what they think of us, however.**

**Crow: You should have fun tomorrow, as the fake Medjed’s deploying soon.**

**Joker: i will**

**Crow: Good. Don’t disappoint me, Akira.**

**Joker: i wont**

Akira’s not surprised with Akechi’s trust in him. Neither of them can really back out of this or betray the other at this point. 

The fireworks festival goes down the same as it did last time. They get to enjoy a couple fireworks, and then the rain comes crashing down on their parade. Akira gets a glimpse of Haru getting into her limo, and sees the rest of his friends make jealous faces as they make their way into the nearby convenience store. Makoto quietly comments on how she thinks she saw someone she knows, while Ann laments about their current situation. Ryuji joins in, complaining that they deserved a bigger celebration than this. Akira tries to gently remind him that he thinks they do deserve a celebration, but they need to stay in the shadows. Ryuji gets frustrated by this, and expresses his desire to change the world. Now, it’s strange, watching the Thieves start to grow an ego. Akira truly fears for what might happen if Okumura isn’t taken care of, somehow. Would it be like the reality that Yaldabaoth showed him where Akira takes his deal, or would Shido simply order Akechi to track the Thieves down and murder them one by one? 

Akira puts it off his mind as he slowly begins to make his way home after Yusuke had noticed the rain letting up a bit. Morgana is complaining about how soaked he is. Akira had bought him a towel and tried to dry him off, but it didn’t work too well. They’ll be home soon enough, though. There, Morgana can curl up in front of the heater or on a towel. 

But Morgana won’t be doing that immediately when they get home. Akira walks into Leblanc, and is greeted to the sight of Sae and Sojiro arguing. Right, Sae was both interrogating him about Wakaba-san’s research, and also the situation that Futaba’s in. Akira doesn’t ask any questions, and just says a quiet “I’m home,” once Sae leaves. Sojiro doesn’t say much back, and just tells him to clean up. Morgana takes that as his cue to go trot upstairs, and hopefully not go sleep on Akira’s bed. Just to make sure, Akira verbally tells him this, and Morgana gives him an annoyed “I know!” 

The quiet din of glasses clattering, the sink running, and the murmur of the TV is soothing. Akira’s half paying attention, listening for any possible Medjed mentions on the news. After 15 minutes or so, the news turns to the topic of the recent psychotic breakdowns and the Thieves’s changes of heart. This piques Akira’s interest, and seemingly Sojiro’s too, especially once it segues into the calling card that Medjed has sent out to the Thieves. Sojiro has his own mutterings of his own, questioning the justice that the newscasters are speaking of, and the matter of the Thieves. Akira’s interest is raised once more once another interview with Akechi pops up on screen. Akechi hadn’t told him there was an interview today, either because he hadn’t wanted to disturb Akira, or this interview is actually live and Akira hasn’t noticed. 

Whatever it is, Akechi’s clearly going off of some sort of script here. The fakeness is plastered on more heavily than usual, and his voice is in an odd, practiced tone. He has no two faced comments that could be interpreted as support of the Thieves, either. Someone must have gotten mad at him for that, and told him exactly what to say. It’s probably Shido, but Akira never really learned who was in charge of telling Akechi what to say on TV. 

“Hey,” Sojiro says, “Phantom Thieves again, huh? You know about them at all or who they even are?” 

“I don’t, sorry,” Akira says, and then turns back to his dishes. He’s enjoying his last minutes of peace and quiet before Sojiro leaves and Morgana rushes downstairs, ready to talk about it. Sojiro seems to decide that the rest of the cleaning should be left to Akira, and decides to leave. Akira says his goodbyes, but keeps washing the last cup intently until Sojiro’s completely out the door. Once he leaves, Akira shoots a quick warning text to Akechi, telling him not to text since Morgana will be looking over his shoulder, finishes up, and then makes his way upstairs. 

As expected, right after he asks Morgana if he overheard anything, his phone blows up with texts from the Thieves about Medjed. He doesn’t really pay attention, as he’s doing this for Morgana, but he chimes in every so often to add something. Once again, he can see their ego slowly growing, as Ryuji seems more hyped about getting attention than he does about helping out people and stopping Medjed from “cleansing Japan.” But all Akira can really do is tell them to refocus on their goals. He can’t tell them the future, anyway. Because who knows what would happen then?


	32. Chapter 32

“Akechi, are you even listening to me?” Shido snarls, snapping Akechi out of his thoughts. What were they talking about? Oh, that’s right. The same thing they always talk about. 

“Sorry, sir,” _ ugh, _ “I was just thinking about how the Phantom Thieves will deal with our Medjed. Seeing as they’re rather proactive, and we don’t know what kind of members they have, they will likely be able to respond in some way.”

“At least you were using that goddamn little brain of yours for once.” Akechi doesn’t respond. He remembers what happened a few times in the past when he tried to counter Shido’s insults, and shudders. But there’s a much bigger issue here that he needs to bring up. Shido has already discussed his desire for Okumura to be planted as the Thieves’s next target, so it won’t be breaking the timeline if Akechi starts talking about him. But, it seems like Shido’s the first one to bring him up, now. 

“Now, once those Thieves deal with Medjed, if they aren’t the cowards they seem to be, you’re going to have to find them. Understood?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And if you find them going in and out of the Metaverse, I want to know immediately.”

“Yes, sir.” 

“Get out of my sight.” 

Akechi walks out as calmly as he can, before switching to a rather angry power walk once he gets out of the room and into the hallway to go to the elevator. Right now, Akechi isn’t going to get involved with Futaba’s Palace, as that whole deal seems to be something that only the Thieves should be dealing with. And, considering that Akechi’s the one who put her into all of her problems, he shouldn’t be involved at all. God, why was his younger self so stupidly, disgustingly dedicated. Yet here he is, still carrying out Shido’s orders. He tries to remind himself that this is all for the good of himself, and Akira by extension, but it still makes him sick. 

He’s had an idea cooking up in his mind about how to deal with Okumura, however. Akira’s told him that there needs to be some way to bust the Thieves’s ego, as any and all verbal reality checks that Akira’s told him about haven’t been working. They have both also speculated about what could possibly happen if Okumura’s left to live. Akira seemed to be incredibly frustrated in that conversation. He clearly wants him to live for the sake of Haru Okumura, but is upset about not knowing what will happen if he does happen to live. 

“I just wish there was some way for Okumura to pass away, but not have you be the one who does it, but I don't want Okumura to pass away, for Haru’s sake,” Akechi remembers him saying very quietly on the train this morning. Akechi doesn’t really want to kill Okumura again, but…

“The Phantom Thieves are going to have to suffer from some catastrophic event to lower your public opinion, unless you want Shido to order me to kill you. I’d rather find some way to deal with Okumura than shooting you again,” Akechi had replied to him. Akira seemed to agree with that point. So now here he was, trying to figure out some way to access Isshiki-san’s research without anyone noticing. If he could figure out how to subconsciously plant ideas into someone’s head, his plan might work. But it would also require Shido’s cooperation and manipulation of Okumura, as well as Akira being okay with the plan. So that would have to wait for now. 

He leaves the building, and continues his march to his bicycle. He really doesn’t feel like going into Mementos today to blow off steam, so this will have to do. Just as he’s about to get onto his bike, he feels his phone go off. Shido wouldn’t text him now, and Akira had told him he was probably going to be busy. Who could it be? Sae-san is a possibility, but she prefers calling him. So he sighs, and pulls out his phone. 

**July 20, 20XX**

**4:32 pm**

**Alibaba: You are the one that the leader of the Phantom Thieves calls Crow, correct?**

**Alibaba: Or should I call you by your real name, Goro Akechi?**

Well, looks like Futaba really was reading in on their texts. Fucking hell, can his day get worse?

**AkechiGoro: That’s correct.**

**AkechiGoro: Is there something you want from me?**

**Alibaba: Indeed.**

**Alibaba: I want you to ensure that the Phantom Thieves change the heart of Futaba Sakura.**

**Alibaba: If they do not change her heart, I will leak your connection to the Thieves, both to the general public and to the rest of the Phantom Thieves.**

**Alibaba: I have given them the necessary tool.**

**Alibaba: Good day.**

Akechi attempts to respond, but receives an error message. God damn it. He pulls out his burner phone to text Akira, asking him if he’s free as innoccously as possible. Akira should get the message, and understand that something’s up. If he doesn’t respond, Akechi will swing by Leblanc later. Actually, that’s a bad idea. If the rest of the Thieves are there and he comes barging in, they’ll smell something’s up right away. Right now though, he needs to get home. 

He isn’t worrying too much about Futaba’s threat, but once she joins the Thieves, she’ll have all the dirt she has on him and Akira hanging over their heads. At least from the short period of time that Akechi knew her, she wasn’t a very vindictive person, and kept her distance from him. Her keeping her distance from him was a nice blessing, because even back then, he felt guilty whenever he looked at her.

Akira finally texts him back, telling him that he’s busy and will text him later. Great. That means Futaba texted him too, and he’s probably with the Phantom Thieves now. Maybe he really is gonna have to go to the Metaverse today. But then the twins will probably harass him again to take them somewhere, and… Ugh. It’s all so annoying. All he can do is order some takeout, and try to work out how to access any of Isshiki-san’s research. 


	33. Chapter 33

“Akira? What did you call us all here for?” Ann asks Akira once everyone settles into their usual spots in the Skyway. Akira’s a bit annoyed, as he knows that they’ll have to end up going to Leblanc, which means more Futaba spying. Then again, they did the same thing last time, and it didn’t seem to affect things too much. Akira pulls his phone out of his pocket, and shows the rest of the group his chat with “Alibaba.”

“How could we have been figured out?” Yusuke gasps. Akira bites his tongue. Now is not the time to be snarky. Maybe Akechi really is rubbing off more on him then he realizes.

“Considering they mentioned stealing hearts, they gotta know about us, right?” Ryuji says.

“It seems like it… do you think they could have read our chats? But, there’s no way they would have known all this information with just those,” Makoto says. The Thieves converse about what could have possibly happened, before realizing that one of them might have been hacked. Sure, that’s part of it, but Futaba does like her hidden microphones. 

“Then, could this person be Medjed?” Yusuke asks. Technically, he’s not wrong. 

“I wouldn’t assume that, considering that they want to make a deal with us, they probably aren’t. But still, we don’t know if we should trust this person, let alone anything else about them,” Makoto says. The Thieves once again deliberate, with Ryuji expressing his willingness to help out and trust “Alibaba”, Yusuke and Ann questioning her motives, and Makoto reassuring them that they shouldn’t trust “Alibaba” just yet, but it doesn’t seem like they’re going to contact them again. 

“But, if they do decide to contact us again, we should probably all stick together somewhere so we can act immediately,” Makoto muses. Ann looks a little deep in thought. 

“A place where we can stay for a long amount of time… Oh, I know! What about Leblanc?” Ann suggests. Well, it looks like the jig is up. 

“Sounds fine to me,” Akira says, “let’s get going.” As they all start making their way to the train, Akira gets two fun texts. 

**July 20, 20XX**

**4:34 pm**

**AkechiGoro: Are you free right now?**

Well that one was certainly interesting. He did tell Akechi that in the next few days he would be busy because of Futaba. And yet, something tells him that Akechi’s got something he needs to talk about. And it’s probably Futaba-related. Damn it. He quickly replies that he’s busy currently, and will text him back as soon as he can.

Akira’s other fun text reads as follows. 

**July 20, 20XX**

**4:34 pm**

**Alibaba: I’m going to assume that you’re going to have to sneak around to meet your precious Crow.**

**Alibaba: I wish to have a conversation with both of you when that time comes.**

Great. That means she’s definitely going to blackmail them both now, separately from whatever she told Akechi, and what she’s telling the Thieves.

“Akira? You okay? Did you get any texts from Alibaba?” Ann asks with a worried tone. Akira glances down at his phone. Futaba’s most recent texts have disappeared from his phone, but his phone has a small notification, saying that a screenshot has been saved. How nice of her. 

“I thought I did, but it seems like it got deleted before I could look at it. I got a text from Akechi too, if that’s relevant,” Akira says. 

“He’s still trying to talk to you?” Yusuke says. Akira should NOT have said that bit about Akechi. He should really think before he talks more often. 

“Um, well, he does seem to be rather lonely, and, uh, I don’t mind talking to him. I told him I was busy though.”

“Seems like you care a lot more than “not minding,” eh?” Ryuji says while elbowing him. Akira gives him a playfully annoyed look. He can’t bring himself to disagree verbally with Ryuji, as, well, he doesn’t disagree with him. So a slightly dirty look is the best he can do. 

“We need to focus on what’s at hand,  _ boys _ ,” Ann says with a sigh. 

“I agree with Ann. We’re in a rather precarious position right now, if you haven’t noticed.” Makoto says. Ryuji gives Ann and Makoto a sheepish look and says a quiet apology. It’s a bit terrifying whenever Makoto asserts authority, so Akira doesn’t say anything and is glad that the heat’s not on him. Probably. Not immediately right now, but if they already know that there’s something up between him and Akechi, it’s definitely going to be on him very soon. 

Finally, they get out of the choking need for quietness on the train, and make their way to Leblanc. Sojiro’s thrown off guard by the five of them suddenly walking in and disturbing his letter reading. Akira quickly notices the letter on the counter next to Sojiro while the rest of the Thieves say their greetings, and Makoto introduces herself. He notices Sojiro pull a surprised face when Makoto says her last name, but Sojiro’s a nice enough guy that he quickly plasters his customer service face back on. Plus, Sojiro wouldn’t get mad at someone just because they’re blood related to someone he’s having issues with. Sojiro introduces himself to Makoto, mentions the letter containing the calling card to Akira, and then leaves. 

They decline to open the card, and sit around to relax and wait on Futaba to text them. Ryuji briefly leaves with Yusuke to go get snacks, leaving Makoto and Ann with Akira and Morgana. He pulls his phone out to try to sneak in a quick Akechi text asking him what the hell’s going on, but Ann’s got a strange look on her face, so he puts his phone back in his pocket. Maybe a bathroom break would do, but then Morgana could be snarky about it. He can almost feel Futaba breathing down his neck. Akira’s willing to bet that whatever Futaba told him, if she told him anything, was a blackmail of some sort regarding his involvement with Akira. 

Thankfully, Ryuji and Yusuke come back in, Triple 7 bags in tow. Once Ann sees the food, she stops giving Akira a wary look, and digs in. Makoto takes over, staring at him suspiciously. Akira wonders why they don’t just come out and ask him about what’s going on already. If he were to confront them about it, he’d probably have to watch some weird, over the top acting. Akira doesn’t understand. They all tell him about their life’s problems, and he helps them out, but are they scared he’s going to get mad at him or something for just asking questions? He’ll leave that for later. 

The news blares out that there is breaking news regarding Medjed, and everyone’s ears perk up, whether visibly like Morgana’s, or metaphorically. The news reports that Medjed has declared victory over the Thieves, due to their lack of response. They all pull out their phones to read Medjed’s message, which finally gives Akira a chance to quickly text Akechi as Ann reads Medjed’s message aloud.

**Joker: at leblanc w/ pts oracle txtd me ask to talk to us**

**Crow: She texted me as well.**

**> Alibaba joined the group**

**Alibaba: Greetings.**

**Alibaba: Are we going to talk now?**

**Crow: No.**

**Alibaba: I see.**

**Alibaba: Well, I can tell that “Joker” is busy.**

**Alibaba: “Crow”, why don’t you come to Leblanc?**

**Alibaba: Then we can all talk.**

**Crow: Only once everyone leaves.**

**Crow: But I suppose I will start making my way there, if you insist.**

“Bro, Akechi must be really clingy!” Ryuji says, snapping Akira out of his texting.

“Were you even listening?” Ann says. Akira nods. He summarizes the note as best as he can, which seems to satisfy Ann. Glancing quickly down at his phone, Akira notices the chat between Akechi, Futaba, and himself has vanished, and another screenshot notification has popped up. 

“Ryuji, you know it could have been Alibaba texting him, right?” Yusuke says. 

“It wasn’t Alibaba or Akechi, guys.” Akira says in response. 

Finally, the group’s interest has turned back towards the envelope sitting on the table. It’s addressed to Akira, and the lack of postage is swiftly noted. 

“Someone must have dropped this in the mailbox, then,” Makoto says. Akira carefully opens it, and a red calling card falls out. 

“This must be what they said about ‘preparing the necessary tool’ then,” Morgana says. He’s standing on his hind legs with his front paws on the table in order to get a better look. 

“What the hell is going on here…” Ryuji mumbles. 

“All we can really do now is wait for Alibaba to contact us again,” Makoto reassures them, “but it’s getting late, so why don’t we talk about this more tomorrow?” They all agree, and trickle out the door one by one, until it’s just Akira and Morgana. At this point, he needs to confide in someone, and that someone has to be Morgana.

“Hey, Morgana?”

“Hmm? Are we going to bed now?” 

“No, it’s just, uh, can you, I wouldn’t say keep a secret, but kinda?”

“Is there something wrong that you don’t want me telling the Thieves?”

“Yeah, cause I can’t sneak it past you really. Listen, Alibaba contacted myself and Goro Akechi individually, and now wants to talk to the two of us alone. For what reason, I don’t know, but..”

“Do you want me to walk around Yongen for a bit? I can tell this is something that’s worrying you.” Thankfully, there are no more questions from Morgana. Bless him. He might be a little prick sometimes, but when Akira really needs him, he can count on him. Morgana even lets Akira pat him on the head nicely while they wait. Akira doesn’t know why he feels so nervous 

Morgana sprints to the front door as it opens, and before Akechi’s even inside, Morgana has left. 

“What was that about?” Akechi asks, his head turned to watch Morgana prance off. 

“I told Morgana about what’s happening so he’d leave me alone.”

“How much?” Akechi’s got a suspicious look.

“Only that ‘Alibaba’ contacted the two of us and wants to talk to us alone.”

“I see,” Akechi says as he slides into the seat across from Akira in the booth. Both of their phones ding.

**July 20, 20XX**

**8:36 pm**

**Alibaba: Let’s begin, then.**


	34. Chapter 34

Akechi had almost run into the Thieves on his way over to Leblanc. All of them seemed to be in rather low spirits, so just hurrying by them with his hood up worked enough to sneak past them. He rushed into Leblanc, only to be greeted by Morgana rubbing against the side of his leg. Now he’s here, sitting across from an Akira with a rather strange look on his face, and the text from Futaba sitting heavily on their phones. Akechi leans back casually. 

“So, Alibaba, would it be easier for us to just talk, or for us to text you?” Akechi says to the empty air. 

**Alibaba: How did you know that?**

**Alibaba: Oh, wait.**

**Alibaba: Sojiro told Kurusu about me catching you two together, and then he told you, correct?**

“Spot on.” Akira says.

“It was rather easy to figure out that there’s at least some sort of bug in here, whether it’s just microphones, or if there’s even a camera or something in here,” Akechi says. 

**Alibaba: I see.**

**Alibaba: Akechi, have you told Kurusu about the deal I made with you?**

“No, I haven’t.” _That wasn’t a deal, that was just blackmail,_ Akechi thinks. He switches to his phone’s photo app to show Akira the screenshot that was seemingly automatically taken after Futaba had errored out her account. Akira takes a minute to read it, before handing the phone back to Akechi. 

**Alibaba: From what I have seen on the other Thieves’s phones, they already have some awareness that something shady is going on between you two.**

**Alibaba: Now, if you don’t do what I ask regarding Futaba Sakura, I can and will send screenshots of all of your conversations, as well as any and all audio recordings, to their group chat.**

Akechi watches Akira pinch the bridge of his nose. He’s obviously frustrated with something, and it frustrates Akechi that he can’t ask Akira what’s exactly frustrating him right now. 

“I understand, but we need more information than just the target’s name and a calling card.” Akira says, elbows on the table, still pinching his nose. Okay, whatever it is, it’s definitely not about just Futaba.

**Alibaba: Is that not enough?**

“No, it’s not. We need the key words.”

**Alibaba: Key words?**

**Alibaba: You’ve lost me.**

**Alibaba: However, I think we have come to understand the terms of this agreement, yes?**

**Alibaba: I also have questions regarding things that you two have said to each other, but I believe those will be useful once the Phantom Thieves have carried out the task.**

“Why don’t you ask us now?” Akechi wonders aloud. Akira grimaces.

**Alibaba: That’s a good question.**

**Alibaba: Hmmm…**

**Alibaba: Well then….**

**Alibaba: What did Kurusu mean when he asked you if “you planned on shooting him this time?”**

Akechi hears Akira make a strangled noise. Fuck. Akechi really shouldn’t have done that. Fuck! God _fucking_ damn it! Now Akira’s gonna be in even hotter water. Well, Akechi will too, but Akira’s the one that’s going to be interacting with her on a daily basis. 

**Alibaba: Can’t answer?**

**Alibaba: That is why I didn’t want to ask these questions just yet.**

**Alibaba: I will be watching.**

The message disappears with an error notification, and screenshots are taken. Akechi’s still fuming mad, and Akira still looks deeply frustrated. God, Akechi can’t do anything right, can he? First, he can’t even figure out what’s frustrating Akira, and then he only adds onto that frustration! Akechi crosses his arms tightly, his hands squeezing his biceps. Akira looks up.

“I’m sorry about all of this, it’s just-”

“What the hell are you apologizing for?! I’m the one who dragged us into this whole mess anyway!” Akechi says a bit too loudly. Akira just sighs, and then lets the room become silent, save for a ticking clock. Akira’s thoughts are still loud enough to hear, but they’re all jumbled to Akechi, because he still doesn’t know what the hell he’s thinking. Akechi takes a few deep breaths, so that Akira doesn’t have to tell him to. Akechi knows that if he asks Akira what’s on his mind, he’s got a fifty-fifty shot of either getting brushed off and dismissed, or that Akira will let a few details slip. Whichever it is, Akechi should probably apologize.

“Hey, Akira? I’m sorry about shouting at you,” Akira looks up at him, and flashes him another one of those devilish smiles. Great, what is he going to do now? That smile never meant good things for Akechi.

“Another apology, just for me?” 

“Why do you always get snarky like this whenever I try to be apologetic or serious?”

“Sorry, it’s easier to be like this instead of confronting my thoughts. Do you want anything?” Akira gets up, and starts moving. There he goes again, hiding what’s going on from Akechi. But Akira seems to be in a slightly better mood, even if he’s just pretending for Akechi’s sake. There’s still the pesky problem of Futaba though. Even though she stopped the chat, who knows if she’s still spying on them. There must be some way, excluding finding and smashing all the mics, to get her to definitely turn everything off. He could always be super cheesy with this, but…

“Hey, Alibaba? You should probably turn off all of your fancy bugs, unless you want to see or hear something you don’t want to,” Akechi says as he walks up behind Akira, before lightly putting his hand on Akira’s arm. Akira jumps slightly, and turns his head back to look at him. Akechi hears two phones chime in unison.

**Alibaba: I KNEW IT!**

**Alibaba: mwehehe…**

**Alibaba: everythings off now**

“Well that was quite the change in tone, Alibaba,” Akechi says, backing away slowly from Akira. No response comes to their phones, so she’s likely turned them off for real. 

“Sorry about that, I was rather unsure about how to get her to turn everything off,” no response from Akira, but his face is rather red, “what, cat got your tongue? Not even a comment about me apologizing to you?” Akira’s face doesn’t seem like it will be changing color any time soon, but Akechi watches him move almost robotically towards the coffee pot. All Akechi was intending was to exploit the notion the Phantom Thieves had about his and Akira’s relationship status. Yet, here is Akira. Maybe he’s just embarrassed or something. It is kind of warm in here, isn’t it? It is a hot July night after all. Akechi looks away from Akira. He really can’t stop himself from doing stupid things, can he? 

Akira sets down a cup of coffee in front of him, despite Akechi never asking for it. Akechi says a quiet message of thanks, and Akira puts another cup in front of the seat to the left of Akechi. It’s filled with water, and Akechi looks up to see Akira shuffling through a cabinet. He watches Akira locate a box of tea, grab a tea bag, and shuffle over to the seat next to him.

“I never took you as a person who likes tea,” Akechi says absentmindedly. Akira seems to have recovered somewhat. He doesn’t look like he’s had a few too many shots anymore, as his face has returned to its normal color. 

“I haven’t been sleeping well, so I’ve been trying to cut down on caffeine.” Another opportunity to ask Akira if there’s something wrong. 

“Is something keeping you up?” Akechi asks as nicely as he possibly can without slipping into a fake voice. Akira stays quiet while waiting on his tea. Akechi isn’t going to try to press him, especially after what he did to get Futaba to stop spying on them for once. So, he drinks his coffee until Akira starts talking. 

“I’m frustrated that the rest of the Thieves seem to be scared of me or scared of hurting me or something.”

“Do they think you’re going to abandon them or something if they confront you?” Akechi watches Akira squeeze his hands around his cup.

“That’s exactly the problem. I don’t know why they’re so scared and dancing around the issue! They all confide in me about their problems, and I don’t understand why they’d think I’d want to abandon them or anything when I clearly care enough to listen to them and help them.” Akechi has really forgotten how much of a stark contrast there is between the cocky, confident Joker, and the regular boy in the real world. 

“Maybe they just don’t know what they want to ask?” Akechi says quietly. 

“Maybe,” Akira says. It feels like that first night all over again, except it’s Akira who’s the one pouring his feelings everywhere. That same steady, comforting silence that seems to be omnipresent at Leblanc settles in. At least here, in this silence, Akechi can be whatever he truly considers to be “himself.”

“Isn’t it a bit weird that we haven’t seen Morgana for a while?” Akira suddenly says aloud. That’s right.

“I did almost run into the Thieves on my way over here. Maybe he’s with them?” That frustrated look returns to Akira’s face. 

“I hope he keeps his promise on why you’re here.”

“Yeah, I hope so too.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nice readers finally get to sees someone make some sort of move after 33 chapters.


	35. Chapter 35

Morgana sprints down the alleyway leading to Leblanc. He has no idea how long Akechi’s going to be staying at Leblanc, but he does know that if he’s fast enough, he might be able to catch up with the Thieves. If worst comes to worst and he isn’t able to catch up to one of them before Akechi leaves, he’ll just stay outside for a while. It does worry Morgana quite a bit that Alibaba felt a need to tell both Akira and Goro Akechi something individually, as well as the fact that Akira’s keeping it private. Morgana calls out as best as he can, hopefully not disturbing any neighbors, as he runs. 

Up ahead, a group’s footsteps stop, and some quiet words that Morgana can’t quite make out are said. But they sound enough like the Thieves to know that he’s succeeded in intercepting them, so he slows down a bit, but continues shouting. The footsteps get louder as he runs towards them. 

“Morgana? Is that you?” Lady Ann’s voice says. He declines to respond immediately, as he zooms up to the rest of the Thieves and sits down. 

“Of course! What other cat is as charming as I?” Morgana hears Ryuji sigh. 

“What are you doing here? I thought you and Akira were turning in for the night?” Yusuke asks. Morgana’s a little tongue tied. Akira had told him in earnest not to tell the other Thieves the truth, but he can’t easily explain why he’s here.

“Um! Well! Akira told me Akechi was coming over and-”

“Okay, you do NOT need to finish that sentence!” Ann cuts him off. What was that reaction for? 

“Huh? Why?” Morgana asks, to no response from Ann, or from anyone else, for that matter. 

“You need to stay with one of us or something?” Ryuji says. For being an idiot, sometimes that guy is ridiculously apt. Still, it doesn’t explain why all of the other Thieves aren’t even questioning that Morgana’s chasing after them or why Akira and Akechi are together. 

“I’m pretty sure it’s the best option,” Morgana says. The Thieves look at each other. 

“Well, my school dorms don’t allow pets of any kind, so I sadly cannot take you in for the night, Morgana,” Yusuke says. 

“Yeah, my apartment building doesn’t allow any kind of animals, either. Sorry, Mona.”

“I don’t think my sister would be very happy if I suddenly showed up with a cat, so I don’t think I can either.” 

“Looks like it’s just me who’s able to, then.” Morgana is filled with a burst of happiness. He would get to stay with Lady Ann for the whole night! Maybe he would get some sushi, handmade by her, or-

“Hey, I know it’s a school night tomorrow, but can we do a sleepover or somethin’ at your place, Ann?” Ryuji asks. Morgana shoots him a dirty look as best he can with this cat body. 

“Huh? Why?” Ann says in a perfect mimic of Morgana just a few minutes ago. Yeah, why? 

“Well, I was just thinking we should get Mona up to speed on the whole Akira and Akechi thing, cause, y’know, he can’t use a phone and all… Plus, it might be kind of fun? Eh, forget I said anything.”

“Coincidentally, Kosei happens to have a day off tomorrow, so I think I’m able to go if we really want to do this,” Yusuke says. 

“Well, I do get Ryuji’s point, and I don’t think it’s a bad idea!” Ann says. Well, not much Morgana can do other than weep internally. Lady Ann is already giving him the charity of letting him stay at her place. But, sushi might still be on the table! He just needs to suggest it first.

“I just need to text my sister about it, but she’s probably so busy that she won’t be coming home tonight with the Kaneshiro case and all.” Makoto says. This almost feels like that one time when Akira sent him away, and he ended up with the rest of the Thieves. Hopefully, this time, Morgana won’t need to bring the rest of the crew out to the Metaverse for any sort of Akira wrangling. Morgana is still dumbfounded by the fact that Akira never told anyone about him trying to meet someone in the Metaverse without backup. And there was still the matter of who this “Crow” was. Morgana had seen a few texts that were sent to Akira by this Crow, but not any of the content in them. 

Morgana hops into Ann’s bag, and the five of them start making their way to the train station. Morgana hopes that they don’t stick out too much, but hey, they’ll be safe at Ann’s house. 

“Someone should probably text Akira that Ann’s taking Morgana for the night, yeah?” Ryuji says absently. 

“Well, since you were the one to bring it up, why don’t you do it?” Makoto replies. Ryuji has a lightbulb moment, and whips out his phone. Morgana watches him hastily type something, and then shove his phone back into his pocket. After they make it onto the train, Ryuji takes his phone out again, and reads whatever’s on the screen. 

“All he said was ‘thx,’” Ryuji says with a sigh, “Man, I hope nothing’s going on over there.” 

“We have to have enough trust in Akira that he won’t divulge anything,” Yusuke says. 

“Not what I meant, Yusk...” Morgana still doesn’t quite get it, but he doesn’t really want to ask.

“Morgana, you can use a touchscreen, right?” Lady Ann says. Morgana nods as best as he can, and Ann pulls out her phone. She switches to a chat that Morgana hasn’t seen before. 

“What’s this?” He asks as Ann scrolls to the very top. 

“Oh, are you showing him the chat where we all talk about Akira, and Akechi every so often?” Makoto asks. Ann nods, and holds the phone in a place where Morgana can both see the screen, and swipe whenever he needs to. As he’s a bit of the way through it, Ryuji pipes up and disturbs him.

“Hey, Morgana, who taught you how to read, anyway?”

“Who knows, Ryuji? I don’t even remember where I’m from or what I am.”

“Sorry, I shouldn’t’ve brought it up…” Morgana finishes up reading, and pushes the phone away. It’s good timing on his part, as they’ve made it to Ann’s stop. They all get off the train, and start walking to wherever Ann lives. It’s a bumpier ride than when Akira carries him, but it’s Ann, so he can’t complain. Eventually, they stop in front of a fairly nice apartment building. They walk in, and Ann is greeted by the lady in the lobby. 

“Oh, Takamaki-san, what’s with the crowd?”

“We’ve got a project we’ve been working on! I hope you have a nice night!” Ann says as they walk into the elevator area. 

“Morgana, can you find my keys? They’re in there somewhere.” Anything for you, Lady Ann. He scrambles around in there until he gets a solid bite on a keyring, and pops out triumphantly. Somehow, he hadn’t even noticed that they moved into the elevator. Ann takes the keys from him, and thanks him. If cats could blush, he’d be bright red right about now. 

“Ann, your place is rather lovely. Who did the interior design here? It’s very well composed,” Yusuke says in a tone of awe once they make it inside. Morgana is inclined to agree. It’s soothing yet highly stylish, just like Lady Ann.

“Oh, my parents like doing interior design on top of their jobs, so they’re the ones who did all the work in here. I’ll go find some blankets and futons, so why don’t you guys all settle in? Help yourselves to anything!” And with that, Ann disappears down the hallway. 

“What a kind and wonderful girl…” Morgana mumbles under his breath. Everyone sits down, except Ryuji, who has apparently wandered into the kitchen in search of snacks. 

“So, Morgana, what did you think of what you read?” Oh right. Morgana clambers up onto the coffee table. 

“Well, if you’re all so suspicious about this, why don’t you talk to him?” The Thieves look back and forth at each other. 

“Well, we… I… We don’t know how we should go about it… And there’s the matter of Akechi-kun, too,” Makoto says. 

“Especially with how we know that Akechi is a Metaverse user. If Akira takes anything we say as us telling him to stop talking to him, then we’ll lose the ability to keep tabs on Akechi,” Yusuke adds on. 

“It’s also a bit odd how close they seem to be, since they’ve only known each other for what, a month?” Makoto says. 

“You guys talking about Akira and Akechi?” Ryuji’s voice calls out. Ann finally returns, arms full of blankets and several futons tucked under her arms. Morgana wants to jump onto right as soon as she sets them down, but this conversation seems to be more important. Ryuji returns with bags of snacks. 

“Looks like we’re talking about this again…” Ann sighs, “I heard what Morgana said about talking to Akira.”

“I think we should wait until we finish with the Medjed issue before we ask Akira about any of this.” Yusuke says. Morgana nods. 

“Yeah, we really need to talk to him. I’ve also been having some thoughts about the whole ‘Crow’ thing.”

“Huh? What about it?” Ryuji says.

“I’m pretty sure that ‘Crow’ and Akechi are the same person.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, cat paws are touchscreen compatible. I checked.


	36. Chapter 36

Akira’s still sitting next to Akechi, attempting to process what the _hell_ just happened. First, the guy gets all sweet with him, and now he’s actually _worrying_ about Akira? What Marukiverse spat this version of nice Akechi out? Akira knows though, from what Akechi was saying, that he was just doing what he did to get Futaba out of their hair. But still, Akechi’s pretty quick on his feet. Wouldn’t he have been able to think of any other way? 

His phone buzzes in his pocket, which jerks him out of his thoughts. Is Futaba breaking her promise? Oh, wait, it’s just Ryuji. Seems like Ann’s taking Morgana for the night, for some reason. Whatever the reason is, Akira hopes that Morgana doesn’t blab too much about anything. 

“What now?” Akechi asks. How long has he been looking at him? Akira can tell that he’s being overly panicky. He really wishes he could be ‘Joker’ right about now, and not the boring old Akira Kurusu. Joker would probably know how to act. 

“Looks like Morgana’s spending the night with Ann,” Akira tries to say as steadily as possible. Akechi snorts. 

“What did that cat think we were going to be doing?” Akira shrugs, but Akechi continues talking, “Well, I don’t mind. That just means we get more time to actually talk about things, or just hang out without having to worry about running into anybody.” 

“Yeah…” It was odd how, despite how little time they got to spend with each other in relative privacy, they spent most of their time in silence. Maybe Akechi was taking it as an opportunity to relax for once in his life. It seems to Akira that he’s been sleeping better lately, but Akira still wonders if he ever gets any time to himself outside of moments like this. Akira drains the rest of his cup of tea, but doesn’t feel like getting up quite just yet. This was a good idea on his part. 

“I’ve been looking into Wakaba’s research recently,” Akechi says, his finger tracing the wood grain of the counter. 

“Why?”

“I’m trying to see if she had anything regarding subconscious manipulation, as, well, it might be a way to take out Okumura without either of us getting our hands directly dirty.” 

“How so? Are you gonna make him kill himself or something?” Akira instantly regrets his choice of words, but then again, this is Akechi he’s talking to. Akechi grimaces slightly, but otherwise doesn’t look fazed. 

“Preferably, he’ll end up incapacitating himself, but if worst comes to worst he’ll be the one who does it, and Shido will be the guilty party. The public will still blame the Thieves, keeping the two of us safe.”

“How’s Shido going to be the one who- oh, wait. You’re gonna tell Shido to subliminally message Okumura or whatever.”

“Exactly. It’s a good thing you understand my ideas.” Akira nods, and gets up to wash his cup. Akechi follows him, once again a bit too closely, into the back of the cafe to put his cup in the sink for Akira to wash. Okay, either Akechi is completely self aware, or completely oblivious about his own actions. Akira stuffs the cups under the water. 

“Do you need to open a window or something?” Akechi asks. Damn you, Akechi. Akira tries to swiftly change the topic. 

“Have you gotten anything from Yaldy recently?” Akechi gives him a strange look.

“No…? Did you? Did that fucker try anything?” Akechi says. He’s finally backed up a bit, and is now leaning against the counter. He’s still blocking off Akira’s path out from behind the counter, but at least his mind seems to be off of Akira as a topic. 

“Nah, I was just wondering. It’s weird that he hasn’t done anything, isn’t it?” 

“Well, I’m glad he hasn’t. I already deal with enough shit, anyway.” Akechi sits back down, and Akira finishes washing the cups. He wants to get back at Akechi somehow, but he doesn’t know how he will do it without making Akira feel more confused. So Akira just stands across the counter from Akechi. Eventually, he gets an idea.

“I have a feeling that something might happen tonight regarding him, though.”

“Why?”

“Well, ‘Igor’ is probably going to call me into the Velvet Room to talk about Medjed, plus it seems like whenever we’re together for a significant period of time, something strange seems to happen.”

“What, you want me to stay or something?” Akechi runs a hand through his hair, “I mean I can, but, well… Oh, who am I kidding. I don’t have to go to school if I don’t want to.” Well. It seems to Akira that Akechi isn’t as painfully oblivious as he thought. Or he could still be. Great. Now he understands why Akechi likes going to the Metaverse to blow off steam. There, he can just be Joker, who doesn’t have to deal with the realities of the physical world, such as confusing feelings. 

“I mean, only if you want to, you don’t have to if you don’t want to-”

“Akira, what has gotten into you? You’re never this insecure, Mr. Leader of the Phantom Thieves,” Akechi gets up off his chair, and walks towards the stairs to the attic. Guess that answers that question. When he gets up there, Akechi’s laying back on the couch. Akira shuffles through some of the boxes until he finds the blanket he gave Akechi last time, before grabbing his own clothes and going downstairs to the bathroom to change. He feels rather strange still, and he knows he didn’t feel this way the last time Akechi stayed the night. Whatever it is, Akira’s just going to put his mind off of it. 

Akechi seems to already be trying to sleep when Akira comes back upstairs, so he hits the light switch and crawls into bed. He pulls out his phone for one final check, and to text the Thieves good night. It’s been scratching at the back of his brain ever since Futaba revealed that the Thieves have their own group chat, as well as Ryuji of all people being the one who revealed that Ann was taking Morgana for the night, that the five of them are probably having their own meetup. 

**Spooky Scary Phantom Thieves**

**9:56 pm**

**Joker: good night my lovelies**

**Skull: gnight bro**

**Panther: Good night!**

**Queen: Morgana says good night.**

**Queen: Wait.**

**Fox: ?**

**Fox: Anyway, goodnight Akira.**

Well that pretty much confirms it. Akira leans over to plug his phone in, and curls himself up. Before he falls asleep, he whispers into the empty air.

“Seems like the Thieves are having their own sleepover.”

“Hmmm? Oh. Whatever,” Akechi mumbles. Looks like he’s pretty much out. Akira rolls over, closes his eyes, and immediately opens them to the blue glow of the Velvet Room. He sits up, feeling like he’s been hit over the head with a hammer.

“You just keep getting into trouble, don’t you, Inmate?!” Caroline shrieks, which does not help his unexplained headache. He gets up, and trudges over to the door. 

“Watching you relax under the circumstances you’re under… You’re either very bold, or very foolish,” Justine says. ‘Igor’ chuckles.

“This endless fight over justice is rather fun. It will all come to end soon, however. Engaging with formidable enemies is simply part of your rehabilitation, and through this, you will hone your powers…” Igor trails off, and the room falls silent, save for the singing and piano. Akira wonders who the singer and the piano player are. He hasn’t ever seen them, but the music definitely doesn’t sound like a recording. Maybe once they get the fake out of that chair, he can ask the real Igor about it. Akira turns, and slumps onto the stone slab. His body feels much heavier than normal. As he’s about to close his eyes again, he sees the desk rotate to face away from him, and towards the other cell. A silhouette of another person stands amidst the blue glow emanating from the cell across from him. Akira tries to get a better look, but his mind is forcibly shoved back into a sleeping state. 

Akira wakes up a while later, feeling just as miserable and sweaty as the last time Yaldabaoth tried to manipulate him. It’s still dark out. Akira hears the shuffling of a blanket, and watches as Akechi slowly sits up. They turn to look at each other. 

“You weren’t wrong, Akira.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: Belladonna (from Persona 1 and 2) is my favorite Velvet Room resident.


	37. Chapter 37

Akechi’s raging. He pulls his blanket up over his shoulders, and holds himself with it. He can feel Akira staring at him from across the room, even in the almost complete darkness. His mind is still reeling from whatever the fuck just happened.

“Are you okay?” Akira says. God, Akechi truly hates it when people ask stuff like this when he’s clearly not okay in the slightest. 

“Do I seem okay to you?” Akechi snaps. Akira sighs. 

“No, you don’t, but I’m trying to be polite. What happened, then?”

“You don’t need to waste your time on pointless bullshit like being polite with me,” Akechi huffs. He still doesn’t feel nearly calm enough to talk about anything. What’s really pissing him off right now, other than Akira’s annoying attitude, is the fact he can’t really remember what happened. His fingers clench painfully into his arms through the blanket, his nails almost tearing through it. God damn it. Why can’t he remember? And whatever the hell it is, why is it making him shake? His mind has been all over the goddamn place in the past 24 hours, and whatever this is isn’t helping. He brings the blanket even tighter around himself, but it doesn’t really help.

Akechi hears the shuffling of sheets from across the room, and then the sound of socked footsteps. Akira walks over here, and sits down on the couch next to him. Akira should just turn around and go back to sleep. He doesn’t need to deal with Akechi in such a pathetic state. 

“Hey,” Akira whispers. Akechi can’t respond. How could he? It feels like his mouth and nose are filled with sand, choking him. Whatever that god damn god of control did to him, he’ll be paying for it. 

“Goro, can you hear me?” Akira whispers again. Akechi nods, which he hopes Akira’s able to see in the darkness. Fuck. Maybe if he had died right then and there on that ship, he wouldn’t be such a burden to everyone around him. Akira wouldn’t have to put up with his pathetic ass, and the public wouldn’t pity him.

“Do you remember anything that happened?” Akira says. Akechi extracts one of his hands off his arm, and shakes his hand in a way that he hopes Akira will interpret as “not really.” Looks like Akira got the message, at least, because he gives a nod of acknowledgement.

“Okay, do you want me to talk about what happened to me?” Akechi nods, “Well, it was pretty much just what happened to me last time. Fake Igor took me to the Velvet Room, and talked about me having to hone my powers and fight strong enemies and what not. Oh! And he also said something about it ‘all coming to an end soon’ but I think he said that last time. The only difference is when they tried to force me out, I saw that the desk had shifted to face the cell across from me, and that there was someone’s, likely your silhouette in there. Do you know if you were in the Velvet Room?” Oh, right. Akechi remembers now, and he feels even worse than he did earlier.

“I was,” Akechi rasps, “but it wasn’t the regular room.”

“How so?”

“The twins weren’t there… and… and… The fake Igor was in there, but his voice was all fucked up, and I was covered in blood, and he kept telling me that he’s the only way for me to be happy, but also kept threatening me, and… it’s just… god I’m a loser. This is nothing,” Akechi chokes out. Akira looks at him. 

“Goro, I’m not trying to or intending to pity you, but this is not ‘nothing.’ He’s trying to get to you and break you so you’ll give in and accept his deal. He knows that you have a strong will.” There’s truth in Akira’s words, but it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t piss Akechi off. 

“I want other people to stop telling me how to fucking live. Not Maruki, not a god of control, not Shido. No one but me. I decided that on that ship, and I decided that when Maruki tried dangling my life in front of you as a cheap trick.” Akechi’s eyes have adjusted to the darkness, and he watches Akira hang his head with a scowl. Suddenly, even with Akira looking down, Akira’s hand reaches up, squeezes Akechi’s blanketed shoulder, and returns to rest in Akira’s lap.

“We’ll defeat Shido. We’ll defeat Yaldabaoth. We’ll defeat Maruki. I swear. And you’ll live.” Akira says with the most conviction that Akechi’s heard out of him all night. Akechi finds it fascinating how dedicated Akira seems to be. Maybe Akechi just doesn’t have much empathy, but if he was in Akira’s position, he’d have given up long ago on himself. Akira cracks his back rather loudly, stirring Akechi out of his thoughts and reminding him of the time and place he’s in.

“What time is it?” Akechi asks, and Akira gets back up to go find his phone. 

“It’s 2:42,” Akira says from across the room. It’s that early? It’s probably because of Yaldabaoth’s shit, but Akechi is in no mood to go back to sleep. He gets up off of the couch, and goes to find the light switch. 

“Are you tired at all?” Akechi asks before he hits the lights. 

“I still feel like I got kicked in the head but I don’t think I’m going to be sleeping.” Akechi turns on the lights to a bleary eyed Akira with heavy dark circles. He honestly looks like shit right now, but Akechi doesn’t want to be making any comments. If he says anything, Akira will likely tell him that he looks the same. 

“I’m kind of hungry,” Akechi says. He’s just thinking out loud, but Akira pushes past him to go downstairs.

“You just like the regular curry, right?” Akira calls from the bottom of the stairs. Akechi follows after him quickly. If there was one thing he wasn’t expecting from today, it would be eating curry at 2 in the morning. But he can’t complain. It tastes good, and the spice is the kick he needs right now. 


	38. Chapter 38

“Akira? Dude, what happened to you last night?” Ryuji looks Akira dead in the face as they walk to Shujin. Akira didn’t put too much effort into his appearance today, and with the added bonus of spending most of the night talking to Akechi and dealing with Yaldy’s shit, he looks, simply put, awful. Ann comes up on his right side with Morgana. 

“Are you okay? Did you even sleep?” Ann says as Morgana leaps at him. He’s just awake enough, and proficient enough, to smoothly catch Morgana and transfer him to his bag. 

“I’m fine. Didn’t sleep well, that’s all,” Akira says, and then yawns. Ryuji elbows him. 

“Bro, seriously. What happened?” 

“I wouldn’t be asking that if I were you…” Ann mumbles. Ryuji’s eyes widen, and he stops momentarily before collecting himself.

“Nothing like that happened,” Akira sighs, “I just had a chat with someone, and then I couldn’t sleep. That’s all.” Akira doesn’t have to wait for long at all for the inevitable question about Akechi’s presence. Of course, he has his own questions about what happened with the Thieves last night, but he’ll save that for later.

“Well, how long were you and Akechi talking, then?” Ann says in an accusatory tone. 

“Like a few hours? He just needed to come in and complain about some stuff,” A massive oversimplification, but the truth, nonetheless, “How about you and Makoto?” Ryuji looks surprised once again. Akira’s pretty sure all of the Phantom Thieves were together last night, but since Makoto texted what she did, Akira can only say that he knows about Makoto, Ann, and Morgana being together. They walk into the school together, and Morgana ducks into the bag. 

“About the same? I mean, we were talking about you and-”

“Hey, is that Maruki over there?” Ryuji cuts Ann off. Ryuji is correct, so Akira’s not sure if it’s a lame attempt on Ryuji’s part to stop Ann from talking about last night, or if he got distracted by Maruki’s sudden appearance. Maruki notices them too, and moseys on over. Akira’s been talking to Maruki when he’s available, and he’s been making progress on his research at the same rate as he did last time. He’s not sure what happened last time that created such a drastic change in Maruki’s personality. Was it a side effect of the Day of Reckoning? Or was he always like how he was in the third semester, but was just extraordinarily good at hiding it? His Palace did start forming all the way back when they were dealing with Okumura. Well, Akira can wonder about questions he doesn’t know the answer to later. 

“Hi guys! How are you all to- Akira, are you feeling alright?” Does Akira really look that bad right now? Sure, he only got like three hours of actual sleep, but it shouldn’t make him look bad enough that everyone’s asking him if he’s okay.

“Oh, I’m fine. Just couldn’t sleep, that’s all.”

“Well, I’ll take your word for it. If it’s because something’s troubling you, know that my door is always open, Kurusu-kun.” Maruki walks away. 

“Have you gone to one of his counseling sessions yet, Ryuji?” Ann asks. 

“Nah, I don’t really see the point in it all, but I guess I’m gonna have to at some point if I wanna stay under the radar.” Morgana meows in agreement from the inside of the bag, which garners a few strange looks from other students. They quickly stop looking once they notice whose bag it is. The first bell rings, and everyone scatters to their classrooms. It’s just another boring day of listening to stuff he already knows, and waiting on Futaba to text him. Which, thankfully, she does. 

**July 21, 20XX**

**2:22 pm**

**Alibaba: Have you stolen it yet?**

**KurusuAkira: no**

**KurusuAkira: as i said, we need the key words and please can you remind me of the targets name**

**KurusuAkira: then we can proceed**

**Alibaba: Fine.**

**Alibaba: The name of the target is Futaba Sakura.**

**Alibaba: But you remember our deal, correct?**

**KurusuAkira: yes**

The chat errors out. This time, Futaba isn’t nice enough to take a screenshot for him, so he takes one, and sends it to the Phantom Thief chat. He doesn’t really feel a need to tell Akechi, as it’s just more of the same from yesterday. Akechi had also said he was going to the Metaverse, much to Akira’s annoyance. That means that Akechi will be exhausting himself even more, and Akira won’t be able to contact him. Yusuke and Ann comment about the target's name, and they unanimously agree to meet up after school. 

It’s the same conversation as last time, with the Thieves asking Akira if he knows if Sojiro has any family members. Akira’s not excited to have that conversation with Sojiro again. He understands why Sojiro reacted as strongly as he did, with Sae’s case against him and all, but it was still wildly uncomfortable for both parties. At least, Sojiro will turn into Nice Sojiro hopefully and explain Futaba’s situation. But that’ll be later. He tries to talk to Sojiro, and just like last time, fails miserably. He informs the rest of the Thieves of the situation, and after a brief back and forth, they decide that it would be best to wait for Sojiro to bring the topic up himself. 

The next day, Akira does a little investigating around Yongen. He ends up with the same information he did last time. Sojiro constantly gets packages and whenever he goes to the store he buys enough for two. Defeated, he returns home to only be once again greeted by Sae talking to Sojiro. Sojiro grumbles something about Sae “being the one who tipped him off about Futaba,” only to be met with a strange look on Sae’s face. They quickly wrap up their conversation, especially once Sae mentions Sojiro’s parental authority being revoked. Sae walks out, and as soon as the door closes behind her, Sojiro harrumphs and turns his attention to Akira. Akira innocently asks what just happened, and Sojiro tells him to ignore it if he still wants a roof over his head.

“Well that didn’t work… But at least we know that Futaba exists, and Alibaba is definitely connected to Leblanc,” Morgana says once they’re up in the attic. Well, they’ll meet up again tomorrow to discuss more, which they do. They all wonder if Sojiro isn’t quite who he seems to be, and Futaba texts them angrily again, asking when they’ll steal her heart. Akira asks to meet her, and Futaba immediately calls the deal off, much to everyone’s surprise except for well, Akira. Ryuji immediately relaxes, and the rest of them join him in slowly relaxing once they all realize that they don’t have to deal with Alibaba’s threat of selling them out anymore. Akira was wondering if their sushi party was still going to happen, and at this rate, they’ll be going tomorrow. 

Once they get home, Akira shoots off a few texts. 

**July 23, 20XX**

**6:36 pm**

**Joker: you want me to bring you any sushi**

**Joker: were having a party tomorrow**

**Crow: I appreciate the offer, but I must decline.**

**Crow: Sae-san still owes me conveyor belt sushi, and I think I already mooch enough free food off of you.**

**Joker: kaneshiros shadow is footing the bill**

**Crow: Did you really sell the Treasure?**

**Crow: Then I might reconsider. I never liked that bastard.**

**Crow: Bring me any leftovers.**

**Joker: alrighty**

The Phantom Thief chat is buzzing excitedly about tomorrow’s plans, but with heavy reminders from Makoto about how they aren’t completely safe yet. She apologizes for “killing the mood,” but Akira is appreciative of the reminder for the rest of the Thieves. 

They all meet at the sushi restaurant in Ginza the next day. The food is amazing, as expected, and Akira spends his time eating it. Yusuke frets over the fact that there aren’t any prices on the menu, and Ryuji reminds him that there’s more than enough money from Kaneshiro’s Treasure. Plus, Akira hasn’t exactly let on how much money he has from the Metaverse, but his millions of yen will be more than enough to cover anything. Eventually, Makoto brings the topic of Sojiro back up. After discussing if he could be abusive or not, Ann mentions that he isn’t a result in the MetaNav, so the topic is mostly dropped. They keep talking until Ryuji accidentally mentions that they’re the Phantom Thieves quite loudly, which makes everyone around them stare. Makoto and Ann scramble to save the situation, and they finish their meal in relative silence. 

Akira makes sure to have two boxes of leftovers, one for Akechi, and one for when they’ll end up going into Sojiro’s house. His box for Akechi comes in handy very quickly, as Akechi runs into them in Shibuya station. Seems like Akechi was gonna try to meet Akira at Leblanc to pick it up. 

“Oh, Kurusu-kun! I didn’t expect to see you here!” It’s the damn TV voice again. Akira shoots him an annoyed look, and Akechi shrugs.

“I got your food,” Akira says, and hands Akechi one of the boxes. He quickly takes it as Makoto starts talking. 

“Akechi-kun?” Makoto asks. 

“Whaddya want, Akechi?,” Ryuji butts in, “I thought you and Akira were on a first name basis, anyway.” Akechi makes a sheepish face. 

“Oh, I didn’t want to be rude or anything. I guess that means Niijima told you guys about what happened, then…” Akechi says the second sentence under his breath, just loud enough for Akira to hear. Akechi then pulls himself back together, “I was just coming to say hi, since I saw Akira and Niijima-san.” 

“Hmm? Do you know this guy?” Yusuke says with quite a bizarre tone in his voice. 

“Oh, my apologies. My name is Goro Akechi. It’s nice to meet you, Yusuke Kitagawa.” Akira wants to jab Akechi in the ribs, but he also remembers that he was pretty blatantly obvious like this last time. Besides, Akechi’s probably enjoying watching Akira cringe over everyone’s bad acting. All of the Thieves look back and forth at each other, while Akira gives Akechi another exasperated look. 

“How did you know my name…?” Yusuke asks. Akechi laughs.

“Well, because I’m psychic, of course,” Akira rolls his eyes, “Just kidding. I’m just a rookie detective. You’re one of Madarame’s former pupils, yes?” Yusuke nods hesitantly, “Well, I’ve joined the investigation team on the Phantom Thieves. By the way, have you seen Medjed’s latest message? They seemed to have declared war.” The Thieves once again share a shocked look. Ann and Ryuji pull out their phones and read over Medjed’s message. 

“Wait, what?!” Ann says after reading it, which Ryuji and Akechi seemingly take quick notice of. 

“Is there a problem?” Akechi asks innocently. Ann stutters on her words, and Ryuji takes over.

“Uh, she’s, well, a HUGE fan of the Phantom Thieves. Absolutely nuts for them.” 

“I see. Well, I’m not so sure if it’s smart to be a fan of groups like them.” Looks like Akechi’s been staying relatively on script thus far. If Akira’s memory is correct, he’ll be asking him a question regarding what he would do about Medjed soon.

“Why do you keep saying stuff like that?” Makoto asks. 

“My apologies. I didn’t mean to derail your conversation, but you do have quite the interesting group here. Oh, right, Akira, I did have something I wanted to ask you.” There it is. 

“Let me guess, it’s about Medjed,” Akira says. 

“It’s almost as if you can see the future or something, Akira,” Akira flashes him a stupid look, and now it’s Akechi’s turn to roll his eyes, “ _ Anyway _ , I wanted to ask what you would do if you were one of the Thieves dealing with Medjed?” 

“I don’t care,” Akira says.

“Not surprising,” Akechi muses. Ryuji steps back into the conversation, expressing how they’re just normal high school kids. He also comments how he’s more interested in whatever Akechi thinks. Akechi responds with his “analysis” on the Thieves, and basically accuses them of being the Phantom Thieves. 

“What, you gonna turn us in now or something?” Ryuji says. Akira can just feel the argument brewing, and he can also see Akechi’s mask is starting to crack a bit. 

“I’m not saying I’m suspicious of you,” Akechi says through slightly gritted teeth. 

“Good to hear.” At this point, the rest of the Thieves have to know that Akira’s acting a little different than usual. If they don’t, then Akira, well, he doesn’t know. 

“Well, you don’t seem bothered in the slightest. I wish I had your calm mannerisms about all of this… You know, I think we would make a good team,” Akechi says with a wink. 

“The hell are you saying?!” Ryuji lashes out.

“Whatever you say, candy cane boy,” Akira says at the same time Ryuji talks, which gets him a couple weird looks from the Thieves and a major stink eye from Akechi. He quickly fixes himself, however.

“Well, I’ll get out of your hair. This has been a valuable point of reference for me. Thank you for the sushi.” Akechi says, and then walks off. Ann asks the group what on earth just happened, and Yusuke and Ryuji worry if Akechi’s figured out who they are. Of course he has, but not quite in the way that they think. Makoto once again warns them to not get ahead of themselves. And then, Ryuji turns to him. 

“Dude, what was up with the whole sushi thing and you calling him a candy cane?” 

“I told him about going for sushi and since he paid for food last time, I wanted to give him some. And the candy cane thing is an inside joke,” Akira says, and is now regretting ever saying that. Ryuji seems to accept it, and then the conversation swiftly switches back to the matter of Medjed. Ann reads over the note, and they decide to go to Leblanc. 

Once they get back to Leblanc, they have their conversation about what they should do next, and get the bright idea to go break into Sojiro’s house. From there on out, it’s pretty much exactly the same as it was. They have their chat with Sojiro, and the next day, they finally get Futaba’s keywords. 


	39. Chapter 39

Akechi’s back in Shido’s office, his gloved hands fidgeting slightly behind his back. Ever since that night with Akira, he’s felt far more on edge than usual. Maybe it’s just a side of Yaldabaoth. However, Akechi’s unusual anxiety has only grown ever since then, with another spike happening after he ran into the Phantom Thieves at the train station. Perhaps he is just fearing that the Thieves will wisen up before his entry to the group. That has to be it, considering how he became significantly more on edge after talking to all of them. Definitely. 

Shido has the decency to be facing him this time, however he’s still preoccupied with his computer. Akechi stays quiet, not wanting to feed into Shido’s power play. Shido had called him here, for some reason, but that doesn’t mean that Akechi isn’t going to take advantage of it. So, he’s going to be very patient until he can say his piece and leave. 

“Oh, good. You actually showed up,” Shido says this derisively, without even looking up from his laptop. It’s par for the course. Akechi slides into his special “I’m sucking up to you but also not” attitude that he uses specifically for Shido. It’s even more of a pain to use than the act he puts on for the public, but it gets Shido off his ass. 

“Yes, sir. What did you need me here for?” Akechi says. He moves his hands up in front of him and starts fiddling with his gloves. He can’t wait until the day he doesn’t have to deal with this anymore. 

“I’m rather disappointed that the Phantom Thieves have not made any sort of formal announcement regarding our Medjed. Perhaps they are exactly as weak as I was thinking.” Shido says. Akechi has to suppress a laugh. Akira alone could probably wipe out Shido, not even including the rest of the Thieves, and considering he’s the one who punched the bastard, he’s already beat Shido once in this timeline. For a steep cost, yes, but wounding Shido’s pride is sweet. 

“Well, they may be lacking the skills to even make a public message against Medjed. We do have no idea exactly what the composition of their group is, if it’s even a group at all.” 

“Why haven’t you made any progress yet?” Shido asks Akechi. Akechi sets his jaw.

“For whatever reason, I have not once seen them enter or exit Mementos, which leads me to believe they have no knowledge of it. However, if we do continue with the set up that we are already planning, I will most likely be able to ‘catch them in the act’ in Okumura’s cognitive world.” Akechi doesn’t know all this ‘we’ stuff that he keeps talking about. It’s all Shido’s dirty planning, and Akechi’s just forced to be there to facilitate it. Shido scowls. 

“Fine. If you’re unable to produce any results by then, I don’t care what happens to you,” Shido says flippantly. Akechi ignores his comment, and proceeds to his task at hand.

“Shido-san, what if I were to also propose a way to get rid of Okumura without either of our hands getting dirty, while still having the Thieves take the fall?” Shido still looks pissed, but Akechi knows he’s hit the nail on the head with his wording, as a vicious gleam comes into his eyes.

“I’ll entertain one of your ideas just this once. However, if it fails, I fully expect you to take matters into your own hands.” Akechi nods. He also suddenly remembers the issue of that principal of Shujin Academy, but he really doesn’t see any other way around that one other than giving him a mental shutdown again. 

“I understand, sir. I’ve been recently looking at more of the cognitive psience research, and I’ve found some very interesting things about subconscious manipulation. Theoretically, if a subordinate is repeatedly told things by a superior, even in contexts where it does not fit, they will begin to believe in it, even if their conscious mind rejects the idea.”

“Are you saying you want me to tell Okumura to take care of himself if the Phantom Thieves do end up sending a calling card?”

“Precisely, sir.” Shido has a fairly smug look on his face. Akechi knows that he’s definitely not proud of him, and is only looking that way because now there’s one less death technically on his hands. 

“Good. I still want you to remain posted inside his world in the Metaverse, when the time comes. You’re dismissed.” Akechi swiftly walks out. He immediately checks his phones for any possible texts from Akira, coworkers, or a certain set of twins that like blowing up his phone every so often. Usually, he’s too busy to go hang out with them, so he directs them over to Akira (or Inmate 1, as those two say). He’s only got a few texts, all of them from the usual suspects. Akira’s telling him he’ll be in Futaba’s Palace today, but can probably hang out in the evening, Caroline is demanding that he come visit them, and Sae-san’s requesting him to look over some things for her. It seems as if their prior conversation a few days ago regarding her difficulties with the mental shutdown case has made his ideas more attractive to her. Could this be part of the ‘bonds’ thing? Possibly, but she’s acting the same as she did last time. 

Akechi shoots Akira a quick text, asking if he wants to go with him to wherever the twins want to go, and starts making his way to his apartment. He’s not in a cafe mood, so holing up in there is his next best option for inconspicuously reading classified police documents. Once he gets there, he very quickly realizes that he for one never bothered to buy a nice chair, and that any and all coffee he tries to make will turn out like shit. So he just flops himself on his bed with his laptop, and tries to get his work done as fast as possible so he can get the hell out of here.

He finally finishes just past 6 and sends his analysis to Sae-san. Akira hasn’t responded yet, so Akechi decides to go get himself dinner and wait for him to text. He had finished the sushi yesterday, so he’s out of options in his apartment. He leaves, and goes to eat in a nearby Orenobeko. Eventually, after an hour or so, Akira texts him back. He asks him if he wants to meet in Shibuya, and Akechi accepts. He pays the bill, and makes his way out to Shibuya. 

Akira’s standing in front of the twins and with no Velvet Room door in sight once Akechi gets to the usual spot in Shibuya. 

“Glad you could come,” Akechi says. Akira takes a look at him, and he looks as if he’s about to say something before Justine butts in. 

“Inmates, we would like you to take us to a place that creates the feeling of being in the ocean, despite it being indoors.” Justine says smoothly. 

“Do you mean the aquarium?” Akechi asks, and the twins shrug. Akira nods, and waves his hand for them to follow him. Akechi walks on Akira’s left, with the twins to Akira’s right. They get to Shibuya station, and on the way over to Shinagawa, Akira seems to remember what he was going to say to Akechi.

“Rough day?” Akira asks. 

“Not the worst,” is all Akechi says. Akira gives him the neutral look of “I know you’re not telling the whole truth but I’m not going to ask you right now,” while Caroline and Justine marvel over all the people and things on the train. Akechi hasn’t taken a train ride with them before, but he assumes that Akira’s put up with this in the past. 

Once they get to the aquarium, Akechi feels that same weird anxiety that he felt earlier, but also a sense of total calmness. The calmness probably comes from being in the aquarium, as he’s always felt a nice sense of steadiness in places like this. He is regularly interrupted, however, by random intrusive thoughts or by one of the twins pointing out an interesting fish they see. Akechi also wonders if they’re going to run into Ohya again, like last time when him and Akira came here. But for now, he’s listening to a small argument that’s broken out between the twins over which creature is cooler. Justine is team jellyfish, Caroline is team killer whale, and Akechi has a feeling they’re going to be asking him and Akira to settle this. Akira looks rather wrapped up in watching the school of fish drift around the tank, so he looks rather startled when Caroline addresses them.

“Inmates! Settle this! Is the jellyfish, or is the killer whale superior?” 

“The jellyfish are more interesting,” Akira says, before he turns his attention back to the tank. Perhaps he’s more exhausted than he had let on. But, he’s also wrong.

“The killer whale is far cooler than the jellyfish, Akira,” Akechi says. Both of the girls look frustrated, as their argument has only worsened. Akira shakes his head. 

“Why do you humans even build places like this?” Justine asks. Akira shrugs, but he looks far too wrapped up in the fish to properly respond. Akechi feels his weird anxiety grow watching him, but also his calmness. Akira’s a pretty calm guy already, but seeing him like this is almost… soothing?

“Inmate 2? Do you have an answer?” Caroline says.

“Well, I’m not an expert on humanity, but it is a way to observe nature without needing to go to the ocean.” Caroline and Justine look at each other.

“I still don’t understand you humans. If you’re going to make the effort to go here, why don’t you just go to the ocean instead?” Caroline says. 

“Well, you’ve both satisfied us. Here is your reward,” Justine pulls four cards out of empty space, and gives two to him and two to Akira. Akechi’s not quite sure what to do with them, so he stuffs them in his pockets. 

On their way back, Akechi brings up how they’ll probably be going back there once Akechi gets those tickets again, and Akira agrees to go with him again before yawning. Seems like it’s a good time that they both head back home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know absolutely nothing about psychology so what akechi said is probably wrong but just roll with it


	40. Chapter 40

Akira really hates whatever part of him decided that his image of a rebel is one who wears a heavy overcoat. That mission to the town that Shadow Futaba sent them on was awful, to say the least. Sure, now that they’re pretty much done with their infiltration, they aren’t spending that much time outside of the Palace. However, whenever they come in or leave, Akira’s almost immediately drenched in sweat. He’s also not looking forward to the fight against Wakaba, for similar reasons. 

Earlier that day, they had broken into Sojiro’s house yet again in order to coax Futaba out of her room to open the door in the Palace. Akira’s not sure if it went more smoothly than it did last time, or if he was only half paying attention by thinking about what to fuse next. He’s been relying a lot on Izanagi-no-Okami recently, but every time he’s used it, he’s felt an odd sense of disjointedness that he hasn’t felt with any of his other personas, other than the other strange ones with no summoning fee. It almost feels like he’s borrowing them or something. Whatever it is, Akira’s fairly close to being able to fuse Satanael. Ideally, he’ll duck into the Velvet Room, fuse Michael, and bring Satanael to the fight against Wakaba. His wallet’s going to be a lot lighter, but he thinks it’s a fair trade.

It’s exactly what he does when they come to the entryway of Futaba’s Pyramid. Akira wonders exactly how long his teammates see him spacing out, because he’s in there for a good ten minutes. Once he finally gets Satanael back in his head, he feels almost… whole? Akira’s not quite sure what he’s feeling. But it is nice to have Satanael back. He’s going to be in quite a pickle if it ends up being the massive one he summoned earlier, but he’s pretty sure it’s going to be a smaller version of it. He leaves the room, and beckons his fellow Thieves to start their march on up to the roof. On their way up, Akira thankfully learns that the Satanael is a smaller one after a fight with a wandering shadow. 

As they get to the roof, they’re greeted by Cognitive Wakaba destroying the roof and creating a mini windstorm. A great start that Akira had largely forgotten about until the first blast of wind had hit him and the rest of the Thieves. He ends up needing to shove Makoto out of the way of a falling pillar again, which gives him another mini heart attack as the pillar grazes the bottom of his shoe. He really should be paying more attention to the present, instead of trying to keep part of his mind occupied by watching out for Futaba to come around. After all, a weird sphinx-cognition-thing is currently trying to slap him, so he should really make sure himself and his teammates are guarding for now. 

After a few brutal hits, the Thieves notice the real Futaba walk by, and almost immediately keel over. Futaba never explained to them whether or not the hallucinations she experienced then were the same ones she had in the real world, but Akira never thought it would be smart to ask. Makoto rushes over and tries to comfort her. After a few seconds of Futaba writhing on the ground, and Cognitive Wakaba screeching those horrible things at her, Shadow Futaba makes her grand reappearance. Shadow Futaba fuses back with Futaba, creating Necronomicon, and the fight is a piece of cake from there. 

Seeing the “real” Cognitive Wakaba gives Akira a bad taste in his mouth. Maybe it’s because of seeing her alive in the third semester. Or, it might be the impending collapse of this place. Actually, it’s probably that. After Futaba leaves and they check the empty casket for the Treasure, Akira feels the tell tale rumble of a Palace collapsing. They all look back and forth at each other, and start running. 

Once they get back to reality, Ann, Yusuke, and Ryuji distract Sojiro, while he and Makoto go to see Futaba. Akira’s not expecting her to be up to doing anything, and his suspicions are confirmed once they find her sitting outside of the Sakura household. He and Makoto bring her inside, and after that it proceeds normally, with him calling Takemi and Sojiro over. 

After they’ve confirmed that Futaba is okay, the six of them debate over what they want to do next. It’s summer break now, after all. The only idea any of them can agree on right now is going to Leblanc, but Sojiro’s closing up shop as they speak, so that’s off the table. They all decide to go their separate ways for now, promising to talk more tomorrow. Akira trudges home. 

“Hey, do you think Futaba will be able to really help?” Morgana says. 

“I’m sure of it,” Akira is very glad he can say this with confidence this time. There’s still the bigger issue of what’s going to happen once she joins the group, however. It’s pretty much a ticking time bomb of when she’s going to ask about what the hell is going on between him and Akechi. Any and all lies about not knowing Akechi prior, if he’s told any, will fall apart with what she’s seen. And it’s not an if, it’s a when. Futaba isn’t stupid. Her gracing them with not making them answer her question about Akira asking Akechi whether he’ll shoot him or not indicated that she’s not afraid to point out their bullshit. 

Morgana shimmies into his usual spot on the bed while Akira goes and gets changed. Akira’s mind is running a hundred miles a minute. Normally, he’s nowhere near this awake after a major Metaverse mission, especially one as emotionally draining as this. Perhaps it’s the realization that his lies are very close to all being exposed. Probably. Definitely. God, he’s fucked. But he also doesn’t have to worry about texting Akechi or inviting him over to Leblanc, with Futaba in her current state. Akira hopes she’ll recover quickly, but he’s definitely going to take advantage of the timing. He mostly only has to worry about Morgana. Right now though, he feels like he needs to talk to Akechi about their current situation, as well as ask him what was bothering him the other day. 

**July 28, 20XX**

**9:42 pm**

**Joker: hey**

**Crow: Is there something wrong? You never text me like this.**

**Joker: maybe you really are psychic**

**Joker: we finished futabas palace and its got me thinking about how little time we have**

**Joker: futaba is already onto us**

**Joker: and im not sure how the rest of the thieves are gonna react when the curtain drops**

**Joker: im just**

**Joker: really worried**

**Crow: …**

**Crow: I understand your concern.**

**Crow: But there isn’t much we can do except push forward.**

**Crow: If it brings you any comfort, I’ve started my plan regarding Okumura.**

**Joker: is that why you were kinda upset when we went to the aquarium**

**Crow: I wasn’t upset. Just sick of Shido’s shit.**

**Joker: oh ok**

**Crow: I did have a rather nice time, though. I did feel somewhat strange, but I haven’t figured out where that was coming from yet.**

**Joker: i see**

**Joker: also about futaba**

**Joker: since shes gonna be sleeping for the next week at minimum leblanc is safe again**

**Crow: That’s good.**

**Crow: Do you want me to come over soon?**

**Joker: thatd be good**

**Joker: pls**

**Crow: Okay.**

**Crow: Isn’t this rather funny, though?**

**Joker: what**

**Crow: The leader of the Phantom Thieves coming to their sworn enemy for reassurance…**

**Joker: :|**

**Crow: Sorry.**

**Crow: This is a bad time, isn’t it.**

**Joker: well i also get to see the real side of our “sworn enemy”**

**Crow: That is true.**

**Joker: including seeing him be embarrassed and immediately worried about things**

**Crow: :|**

**Joker: thats a first**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Goro Akechi: I feel anxious around Akira.   
> Also Goro Akechi: It must be Yaldabaoth.


	41. Chapter 41

Akechi’s never liked summer much. It’s too hot, and with school being off he doesn’t really have much to do. At least this time around, he can go hang out with Akira, but that always carries its own risk. Either Yaldabaoth tries to fuck them over, one or more of Akira’s friends ‘runs into them,’ or he gets that weird feeling again. But whatever, it’s worth the risk. Plus, it’s nice to not have Futaba be a concern. A slight problem he hadn’t thought about was that the other Thieves could come to Leblanc, too. He runs into this issue the day after him and Akira talk.

Akechi settles down into his regular seat at Leblanc’s counter. It’s fairly early in the morning, so Akira’s probably not awake yet. Sakura-san gives him a strange glance, but it fades from his face quickly as he asks Akechi what his order is. It might be because he’s added new layers to his “normal person” disguise, but he still looks like Akechi if you actually bother to look. But from the back and side, he just looks like a guy with hair in a ponytail and glasses. Sakura-san brings him his coffee, and Akechi starts his long wait. He quickly sends Akira a text. Hopefully, it’ll wake him up, and he’ll get his ass down here. 

The door jingles, and Akechi glances over. It’s Kitagawa and Sakamoto, with Takamaki coming in behind him. Shit. If he leaves immediately, it’ll be weird, but for every second he’s here the chances of him being discovered only rise. _Act casual and normal,_ he reminds himself. Thankfully, there’s some other customers here, so he doesn’t stick out quite as badly. But he’s also the only one here that’s under the age of 50 that isn’t also a Phantom Thief. Speaking of them, Akechi can hear them all shuffle into the booth seat behind him. Yeah, he really should have checked with Akira first if they were coming over or not. 

His greatest threat walks into the cafe. Looks like Niijima-san was running a bit late. 

“Oh, sorry, I’m late. Where’s Akira?” Niijima says. She doesn’t seem like she’s noticed Akechi’s presence, yet. 

“Kid’s gonna sleep the whole day away, at this rate,” Sakura-san says from behind the counter. Akechi hears a rather loud sound come thundering down the stairs. It’s Morgana, who’s peeking around the corner. Akechi notices him notice the Thieves, and he sprints back upstairs, probably to go try to wake up Akira. Akechi allows himself a small chuckle under his breath, and he texts Akira again. 

**July 29, 20XX**

**8:42 am**

**Crow: I just saw a certain feline sprint down the stairs…**

**Crow: Are you still sleeping?**

**Joker: hwau**

**Crow: ???**

**Joker: what**

**Joker: oh shit**

**Joker: are the thieves here**

**Crow: Yes.**

**Joker: fjsk**

**Crow: Are you okay?**

**Crow: Akira?**

No response from Akira, but a couple of minutes later, Akechi watches Akira stumble downstairs. 

“Good morning!” Takamaki says. Out of the corner of his eye, Akechi sees Akira wave to her. Did he not sleep or something last night? Akechi takes another sip of his coffee as inconspicuously as possible as he watches Akira walk up to him. He grabs the bar stool that’s next to Akechi, turns it around to face the Phantom Thieves, and moves to sit down. It seems like Sakura-san doesn’t seem to care what Akira and his merry little band do, even with the cafe open. 

“Damn, Akira, you look like shit again. You sleeping okay?” Sakamoto says. 

“Not really, but there’s not much I can really do about it other than trying sleep meds or something,” Akira says. Akechi’s pretty sure it’s from his worryfest last night, but there could always be another issue. If Yaldabaoth tried fucking with him again, Akechi’s about ready to grab Akira and take care of that bastard themselves. Oh, right. He can’t be losing his cool now. 

“Please tell us if there’s anything we can do for you,” Kitagawa says. 

“Man, at least he didn’t spend the night again with Akechi, at least!” Sakamoto says, and then makes a weird noise. Seems like Sakamoto shouldn’t have said that. 

“Ryuji!” Takamaki says. Maybe he wasn’t supposed to tell Akira that they know about him spending the night with Akechi. 

“Anyway,” Niijima says, “we did meet up to discuss any summer plans, yes? I’m just going to say now that I don’t want any of you slacking off on your summer work.” Akechi hears someone groan. Probably Sakamoto, knowing him. 

“There are a few art exhibitions that I may be able to get tickets for, if anyone is interested,” Kitagawa says. Sounds like they’re finally getting to what they want to talk about. 

“I think that could be fun! I’d just need to check whenever I’m free. I’m also up for shopping trips. There’s a couple new stores that opened in Omote-sando that I wanna go- Hey, Akira, are you even listening?” Akechi glances over at him. 

“Huh? Yeah, shopping trip, new stores. Sounds good, I’m in,” Akira says. He looks like he’s about to fall asleep at any second. Akechi feels almost obligated to stay now, so that he doesn’t end up killing himself or something if he falls out of his chair. That would put Akechi in a pretty bad spot. Sakura-san walks over, and hands Akira a cup of coffee. Even he noticed, huh. Akechi wonders truly how little sleep he got, as even after that night they were here together, Akira didn’t look this bad. Sakura-san also brings the rest of the Thieves drinks, which they thank him for. 

“Well, I don’t have any ideas, but what you guys have said are pretty good,” Niijima says. 

“Same here. Akira, you got anything?” Sakamoto says. Akira shakes his head. The Thieves can’t really talk about anything else, as the general public is still in here, so Akechi decides to turn his attention onto the TV in the corner. The news is discussing the Medjed case. Akechi knows there isn’t any new information that’s been sent out, so they’re mostly just recapping the situation. He stops paying attention once his own face pops up on the screen. He hates having to see any of his interviews in any capacity.

“Man, I hate that guy. Don’t know what you see in him, Akira,” Sakamoto says. Akechi doesn’t know what Akira sees in him, either. Akira’s not seeing much at all right now though, as it seems like he’s fallen asleep. 

“Uh, Akira?” Takamaki says. Sakamoto pokes him a couple times, and Akira jerks awake. 

“Sorry, sorry,” Akira says.

“Are you really sure you’re okay?” Takamaki asks him. Well, he’s clearly not, but Akechi’s almost certain he’s not going to tell the Thieves what is on his mind. 

“I couldn’t sleep last night. Might have been cause of you know what,” Akira says. It’s clearly a double message. 

“Oh, yeah. Usually I’m dead tired after those, though,” Sakamoto says. 

“Why don’t we meet up later in the week, when we’ve all recuperated?” Niijima says. The rest of the group agrees, and Akechi watches them all get up and leave. Either they just didn’t bring it up, or the disguise actually worked and it’s Akechi’s lucky day today. 

“Didn’t know you wear glasses,” Akira mumbles as he turns his chair back around to face the counter. 

“I don’t, I just took a page out of your book. It did work last time, did it not?” 

“I guess so,” Akira says quietly. He stares at his coffee cup. Guess this is as good of a time as any for Akechi to ask what’s up with him.

“Did something happen last night, or were you just not able to sleep?”

“Too busy thinking to sleep. I wanna go to the Metaverse.”

“We’re not going with you like this. And you’re really turning into me if you want to go there to stop thinking for a while.”

“I need to level stuff up though…” Akira says. Is he really being pathetic now? Akechi’s seen some strange new sides of Akira over the course of this repeated timeline, but extremely tired Akira is something new. 

“We’ll go tomorrow, okay?” Akechi says. 

  
  



	42. Chapter 42

Akira’s nowhere near as tired as he was yesterday, but the Metaverse exhaustion is still weighing down on him somewhat. He’s honestly not sure what came over him yesterday, nor does he really know what happened. He knows the Phantom Thieves came over, and he knows that Akechi forced him to go back upstairs, and he knows that Sojiro woke him up around dinner time to try to get some food into him. It’s all rather embarrassing for Akira, being as out of character as he was. Considering he’s supposed to be the calm and collected one, falling asleep during a meeting and acting weird is just not right. At least he doesn’t feel as tired anymore. 

Akechi texts him as he’s getting ready, asking him when he wants to go into the Metaverse and if he’s done being exhausted. Oh, right. That was something Akira had asked him about. He does genuinely want to go there to work on making Satanael stronger, but he also kind of wants to see Akechi’s reaction to it. He’s probably just being a jerk, but it’ll be a little funny to Akira, at least. Or, Akechi will just end up really confused. Who knows. He texts Akechi back, telling him that he’s starting to make his way out of Leblanc. 

“You actually look alive today,” Sojiro says as Akira walks into the cafe area, “What was that all about yesterday? You spent all night talking to a girl or something?” 

“No, just couldn’t fall asleep no matter how hard I tried,” Akira says. A look of genuine concern crosses Sojiro’s face. 

“I was just kidding with you, but you should probably lay off the coffee and hang out with your friends,” Sojiro says. Akira nods.

“Will do, Boss.” Akira double checks to make sure Morgana isn’t tailing him, and then goes and gets on the train. 

**July 30, 20XX**

**9:30 am**

**Joker: so since we wont have much time to talk in the metaverse can you remind me about what happened yesterday**

**Crow: Did you catch something in Futaba’s Palace?**

**Crow: You seriously don’t remember?**

**Joker: some parts**

**Joker: like you making me go upstairs and boss poking me to wake me up**

**Crow: Ugh.**

**Crow: You hung out with the Phantom Thieves and talked about summer plans, and the rest of that is exactly as you remember.**

**Joker: ok**

**Joker: you seem kind of snippy today**

**Crow: When am I not?**

**Joker: true but today its more than usual**

**Crow: I suppose.**

**Crow: I received a fairly unpleasant text earlier.**

**Crow: Also, I do not like having to be concerned about you.**

**Joker: sorry but thats kinda oddly nice coming from you**

**Crow: Perhaps. I am at Shibuya. See you soon.**

Akira’s almost there himself, so Akechi won’t have to wait too long. He gets off the train, and walks through the station up to the Buchiko statue, where Akechi is waiting. He’s scowling and reading his phone. Must still be dealing with that text he told Akira about. However, once Akechi spots him, Akechi obviously sighs in relief and shoves his phone back into his pocket. 

“Well, you do look significantly better today,” Akechi says, “Let’s not waste any time, shall we?” Akira nods, and pulls out his phone. The MetaNav activates, and the world dissipates around them. 

“Oh, it’s good to be in this again,” Akechi’s back in his Black Mask outfit. He has no reason to wear the Prince outfit, now that Akira can sneak off to Mementos with him without raising too much suspicion from Morgana. Akira still wonders how his whole two outfit thing even works, but it’s probably some more Metaverse fuckery regarding Akechi’s personalities. 

Interestingly enough, even with the disappearance of the Velvet Room door, the twins are still standing there. Akira catches Akechi’s attention, and they walk over to the twins together. 

“Inmates, we are impressed that you even were able to find this place,” Justine says. Akira doesn’t remember them ever talking to him like this. Maybe it’s because they’re here together?

“So, we want to test you to see how strong you two really are!” Caroline exclaims. Akechi crosses his arms, which is probably no easy feat with whatever the hell is on his wrists. 

“What would this test be?” Akechi asks. 

“We would like you to engage us in combat. We promise you that if you are somehow able to defeat us, you will be generously rewarded,” Justine says. 

“It’ll be no easy task, so come to us when you’re ready!” Caroline says. Akira and Akechi look at each other. Akira’s confident in his personas, but he has no idea what Akechi’s got in his stock. 

“We’ll come back later,” Akira says, and Akechi sternly nods. They push past the main turnstiles, and start moving swiftly through the floors. Due to hanging out with Ryuji several times, Akira’s discovered that he can now pretty much instakill any significantly weak enemies, which is nice for blowing through these earlier floors. Akechi always gives him an odd look whenever he does it, but he probably can’t explain it all too easily. 

They finally make it down to the Path of Kaitul, where the enemies are still weak, but can’t be immediately taken out by Akira. Looks like it’s time for the grand surprise. They get into a battle with one of the red shadows, and a Take-Minakata pops out. Akira’s the one who moves first. He rips his mask off, and the hulking form of Satanael pops up behind him. Akechi turns to look at him. Akira can vaguely see his mouth moving, but he can’t hear Akechi in the slightest. He has Satanael cast Megidolaon, and with Tyrant’s Mind and Pagan Allure, the Take-Minakata is downed instantly. After the battle is over, Akechi turns to him. 

“Is this like how I’m able to fuse Hereward?” Akechi asks. Looks like he’s not shocked. Rats. 

“You can do that?” 

“I can, I just haven’t. I don’t want to end up losing Loki if Hereward doesn’t have the berserk ability.”

“You do know the compendium exists, right?”

“Don’t tell me you can just resummon personas whenever you want…”

“For a price,” Akira says, “I think we should get moving again, unless we want to run into the Reaper.” Akechi sighs in exasperation, but they start moving again. Akechi takes a Rakshasha and a Sui-ki as his personas, but other than that, nothing of note. Akira can tell that Akechi’s starting to get tired, even with Akira’s endless supply of coffee, as he gets more and more aggressive than usual, but his movements are sloppy. But that ‘Victory Cry’ ability is proving to be very handy on Akira’s end. 

After they both start to get bored, they begin to make their way back up. Akira hopes that they haven’t stayed out too late. Morgana’s going to be pissed if he stumbles back into Leblanc at seven, and in a post-Mementos trip state. It’s only four, thankfully, but Akira’s still tired as hell again. 

“That proved to be very beneficial. I don’t feel nearly as mad as I did about Shido, earlier,” Akechi says as they try to walk casually away from the spot where they magically reappeared. 

“What did he do now?”

“He’s just being a pathetic bastard again.”

“I see.” And with that, they go their separate ways. Akira tries to get back home as fast as he can, just in case Morgana gets nosy. But it doesn’t quite work, and Morgana starts asking him all sorts of questions about what him and Akechi did. The best lie he can come up with was that they saw a few movies and had lunch, which could explain Akira’s tiredness. Akira’s not sure if Morgana buys it, though. 


	43. Chapter 43

**One Persona Gang**

**6:25 pm**

**> Alibaba joined the group**

**Fox: Futaba?**

**Alibaba: just doing this before i forget!!!**

**Alibaba: im gonna go back to sleeep**

**Alibaba: -_- zzzz**

**Skull: well im gonna guess shes probably read everything here**

**Skull: but man im actually kinda impressed with how much shes sleeping**

**Panther: I want to be worried, but Boss said this is a normal thing…**

**Queen: Well, and she’s talking to us now.**

**Alibaba: wait not gonna sleep yet**

**Alibaba: i have questions!**

**Skull: whats up futabs**

**Alibaba: didnt yall say that youd be asking akira about some stuff**

**Queen: Yes?**

**Alibaba: hmmm**

**Alibaba: why havent you**

**Fox: Well, we don’t want it to go wrong.**

**Alibaba: what could possibly go wrong??**

**Alibaba: akira cares about you guys and im pretty sure hes not gonna just disappear on yo**

**Queen: We know, but still…**

**Alibaba: i heard him say it himself!**

**Skull: wait wdym**

**Alibaba: hhhmmmmm**

**Alibaba: i probably shouldnt have said that too tired rn for human functions**

**Alibaba: but how do i explain without breaking our deal…**

**Fox: Deal?**

**Alibaba: forget i said anything!!!!**

**Alibaba: but you guys should talk to akira!!!!**

**Alibaba: im gonna sleep for real now!!!!**

**Panther: Get some rest Futaba-chan!**

**Queen: I do think she’s speaking the truth…**

**Queen: We did say that we were going to talk to Akira after dealing with Medjed, right?**

**Queen: Since we have Futaba now, I hope that we can deal with Medjed, so I guess we probably should try to talk to him.**

**Skull: yeah but what are we gonna SAY?**

**Skull: “oh hey akira what’s going on with you and akechi? Is akechi crow? why does he seem to know the name joker? why do you keep saying that we cant help you with your problems?**

**Skull: its all just so**

**Skull: frustrating**

**Panther: Ryuji…**

**Fox: I think we all understand your feelings on the matter, Ryuji.**

**Queen: Agreed.**

**Queen: We need to do this.**

**Panther: Should we come up with some questions that we wanna ask?**

**Panther: I’m personally really curious about those girls that Makoto talked about.**

**Skull: oh right that sounded weird as shit**

**Skull: like the guy lives in an attic and i dont know how many people know about his criminal record but i dont think hed be the first choice for someone when theyre picking a baby sitter**

**Skull: no offense to akira but yeah**

**Skull: werent they wearing prison warden outfits or something too**

**Queen: Yes. They even had hats, and I swear one of them had a baton.**

**Queen: Another weird thing was that they were almost observing me or something.**

**Queen: It definitely wasn’t normal.**

**Panther: So the questions we have so far are:**

**Panther: What’s going on with you and Akechi?**

**Panther: Is Akechi Crow?**

**Panther: How much does Akechi know?**

**Panther: Who are those kids?**

**Panther: Sound good?**

**Fox: I wouldn’t be shocked if other questions come up in the course of the conversation.**

**Fox: It also seems like Futaba has some information that she isn’t going to tell us without breaking this ‘deal’ she has.**

**Queen: If Akira made a deal with her to keep it quiet, it must be something pretty big.**

**Skull: i just hope akiras not a traitor or something**

**Fox: I doubt that.**

**Panther: Akira isn’t that kind of guy, and he’s probably lying more for our sakes than anything.**

**Queen: Hopefully Akechi doesn’t have him stuck between a rock and a hard place.**

**Skull: yeah**

**Fox: When do you think we should talk to him?**

**Queen: Well, Akira’s pretty much always free, right? Unless he’s spending time with Akechi or another friend or something.**

**Queen: I think whenever we’re ready.**

**Skull: should we have akechi there**

**Panther: I mean…**

**Panther: If Akechi’s there, I don’t know if Akira’s going to not be able to say what he wants to say**

**Panther: But I’m also really curious to see if Akechi will let anything slip**

**Fox: I doubt it, with how well crafted his persona is, but I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to try.**

**Queen: Do you guys want to try tomorrow?**

**Queen: I can text him.**

**Skull: aye aye queen**

**Fox: It works for me.**

**Panther: It also works for me.**

**Alibaba: ill be listening (￣▽￣)**

**Alibaba: whoops**

**Alibaba: really gonna sleep for real**

**Queen: I’m texting Akira now.**

**July 30th, 20XX**

**6:37 pm**

**NiijimaMakoto: Akira?**

**KurusuAkira: thats me**

**KurusuAkira: is something up?**

**NiijimaMakoto: Well, yes. Can we all come to Leblanc tomorrow?**

**KurusuAkira: of course**

**NiijimaMakoto: Can you invite Akechi, please?**

**KurusuAkira: huh why**

**KurusuAkira: oh**

**KurusuAkira: ill make sure he’s there**

**KurusuAkira: see you tomorrow**

**One Persona Gang**

**Queen: Sent a screenshot.**

**Skull: well i guess its now or never**

**Skull: seems like he knew what was gonna happen though**

**Panther: Also off topic but was I the only one who noticed Akechi when we were at Leblanc last time??**

**Skull: he was THERE?**

**Fox: I noticed as well. He does make some very natural looking disguises.**

**Skull: shit shit shit i insulted him not only in front of akira but right in front of akechi shit shit shit**

**Queen: Let’s worry about this tomorrow, shall we?**

**Panther: Yeah.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yallve been waiting for this


	44. Chapter 44

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> big boy chapter

Akechi sighs. He’s a bit surprised that the Phantom Thieves are getting their shit together right now, but he supposes he shouldn’t think so lowly of them. Credit should be given to them for coming up with that whole plot to get Akira out of the police station. It might just be that Akira’s anxiety about the whole thing is rubbing off on Akechi, but he did think they were going to get just a little bit more time. But there isn’t much Akechi can do now without either abandoning Akira, or making even more lies. He’ll wait and see what Akira wants him to do. Akira hasn’t told him very much. All he did was tell Akechi to please come to Leblanc really early tomorrow, and that the Thieves want to talk. 

Akechi shows up at Leblanc at 6 am. He didn’t know how early Akira wanted him to be there, after all. Surprisingly, Sakura-san isn’t even in the cafe, but the lights are on. Akira’s standing behind the counter from what Akechi can see through Leblanc’s window. Akechi walks up to the door, and tries to pull it open. Seems like Akira forgot to unlock it. He knocks a few times on the door, and Akira jumps. Akechi watches him put down whatever he was holding, and come over to the door to unlock it. 

“Hey,” Akira says as he opens the door. He looks tired again, but he invites Akechi inside. Akechi takes a seat in his normal spot, and Akira returns to where he was behind the counter. Akira looks pretty frustrated. Hopefully, he’ll at least tell Akechi what’s up. Perhaps Akechi does bottle up his feelings and let his emotions stew until they reach a breaking point too often, but he’s nothing compared to Akira’s talents in hiding his problems.

“Did you not get enough sleep again? I swear, I remember you nagging me about my sleep schedule, but look at you now,” Akechi says. Akira just shakes his head. 

“Been too busy thinking about all this. I’m fine though, I swear.” Akechi’s not going to press him too much on this. It’ll just be more of a headache for both of them. Akira hands him his coffee, and then Akira starts working on making his own. The usual silence between them feels tenser than usual. 

“How much of the truth do you want to tell?” Akechi asks. He really isn’t expecting much of an answer. Akechi himself doesn’t know how he’d answer that question. The controlling part of him deep down is crying out, telling him to lie to the Thieves, to make sure that Akechi’s the one that comes out unscathed. He shoves that aside. That part of him has gone ignored ever since Maruki’s Palace. He’s still not a big fan of the whole ‘merry band of thieves’ thing, but he acknowledges that he at least wants Akira to stick around.

“I kind of want to tell them the full truth, but I’m not sure how they’re going to handle the whole Black Mask thing. Or you being Crow. Or, hell, Ryuji’s gonna flip when he finds out you know that we’re the Phantom Thieves, let alone all the other stuff. But, I think we do need to tell at least some of the truth,” Akira laughs slightly with his last sentence, and comes to sit next to Akechi at the counter.

“I probably shouldn’t use the TV persona, then,” Akechi says. Akira smirks at that. 

“The less I have to listen to you do that, the better. It’s creepy as hell after seeing the real you.” 

“What, you don’t like my carefully crafted public image that I need to use that makes me want to kill myself?” Akira laughs at this. Nothing like a bit of dark humor to make a Phantom Thief happy. Akechi takes a long drink of his coffee. Akira doesn’t seem to be quite as anxious as he was earlier, thankfully. 

“I really hope they don’t ask about Caroline and Justine.” Akira says. Oh, right. That one is a whole other can of worms. 

“I mean, they probably will, especially since Niijima-san of all people was the one to catch us with them.” 

“I could barely explain what the Velvet Room was when all of us were in there,” Akira sighs, and then proceeds to do a very strange thing. He stretches his arms up in the air, and then reaches out and places one of his hands on Akechi’s left shoulder. Akechi’s weird anxiety spikes. 

“What’re you doing?” Akechi says. Akira immediately looks a bit guilty, and pulls his hand back.

“Sorry, guess I was trying to be reassuring or something.”

“I think, between the two of us, you’re one that probably should be being reassured right about now. When are they supposed to be showing up, anyway?” Akira shrugs. 

“Makoto just told me to be here with you tomorrow. I’d say probably in an hour or so?” It’s seven right now, and since the Thieves were here at 8 last time Akechi doesn’t doubt his hypothesis. But he’s got another question that he’s almost certain he knows the answer to. He’s still curious, though. 

“Did you already tell Sakura-san not to open the cafe today or something?” 

“Yeah, I told him we’d be hanging out here. I’m almost certain Futaba’s gonna be listening in, even if she’s just recording.” Great. At least she won’t be here in person to ask them any of the really hard to answer questions. Akechi grimaces slightly, but takes another drink of his coffee so Akira won’t see him making faces. The clock ticks on. Akira’s phone buzzes a couple times. 

“Looks like Ann and Ryuji are almost here,” Akira says. Niijima ran late last time, and Kitagawa is always kind of unpredictable, so he’s not surprised. One other question pops into his head.

“Where’s Morgana?” Akechi asks. Akira looks a bit surprised. 

“Shit! I said I was gonna wake him up!” Akira abandons his coffee, and makes a mad dash upstairs. Looks like it was a good thing that Akechi reminded him. Akira hurries back down, Morgana trailing after him.

“You said you were gonna wake me up!” Morgana says, his tail swishing.

“I’ll get you sushi or any other food you’d like later if you let it slide. Please?” Akira says. Morgana harrumphs, but the promise of food has clearly won him over.

“Only this time! And I want fatty tuna, oh and maybe some sashimi…” Akira sighs, but Morgana continues to list different kinds of fish. 

“At least I basically have infinite money,” Akira says. 

“You’re also bargaining with a cat, Akira. You’re not going to come out as the winner.” Akira rolls his eyes, but he’s got a good-natured expression on his face. Morgana pipes up that he’s not a cat, but Akechi elects to ignore him for now. He’d rather wait until everyone is here to start interrogating him. 

Speaking of which, the door jingles, and Takamaki, Sakamoto, and Kitagawa walk in. Akechi’s been wondering why Niijima continues to be consistently late. She seems like the kind of person that would be incredibly punctual. 

“Hey, Akira!” Sakamoto says. It bleeds of trying to lighten the mood, especially with his total avoidance of greeting Akechi. Typical Sakamoto. 

“Does anyone want anything?” Akira says. 

“I mean, if we’re still waiting on Makoto, can you make me my usual, please?” Takamaki says. Akechi’s almost glad they’re ignoring his presence right now. Maybe it’s just because the three of them are sitting down in the booth they were sitting in a few days ago. Morgana hops up on the table and sits next to Takamaki. The four of them are whispering to each other now, so Akechi decides to watch Akira instead of blatantly trying to eavesdrop. It’s a much better sight, anyway. Sakura-san has trained him well in the arts of making coffee, and it clearly shows. Akira finishes up, and brings Takamaki her drink, and then returns to the kitchen. He starts pouring out a glass of soda.

“Yusuke, you sure you don’t want anything? We have muffins and some other random snacks,” Akira says with his head in the fridge. 

“No, I don’t want to impose too much-”

“Yusuke, when was the last time you ate?” Takamaki cuts Kitagawa off. 

“Uh, well, money’s been a little tight-”

“Akira, bring him something.” So Akira rustles around in the kitchen again, this time producing a plate and a muffin. In this time, the door jingles again, and Niijima walks in. 

“I’m so sorry that I was late again. My sister wanted to talk to me about some stuff,” Niijima says as she slides into the booth seat next to Kitagawa. 

“That sounds like Sae-san to me,” Akechi mutters. 

“Oh, hello, Akechi-san. Did you say something?” Niijima says. He shakes his head. Of course she’d be the one to acknowledge him first. Akira’s his saviour, as he asks her if he wants anything to drink, which breaks up the tense air somewhat. It returns quickly, however, once Niijima gets her coffee. Akira sits down in his chair next to Akechi, and turns his chair around. Akechi follows suit. He doesn’t want to be like Shido, now. 

“So....” Akira says, trying to break the Thieves’s silence. It’s pitiful that without their leader being the one to direct them, they seem so lost and unwilling to try. Kitagawa coughs. 

“Well, uh…” Sakamoto says. Takamaki sharply inhales. 

“Okay, what is going on between you two!?” She says. Akira and Akechi look back and forth at each other. 

“Can you be more specific? There’s a lot of ways that question can be answered.” Akechi says. It’s like a weight off his shoulders to be using his normal voice. Sakamoto looks a bit weirded out. 

“Well, I think something we’ve been wondering is if you can use the Metaverse or not,” Niijima says. Looks like Takamaki’s little push worked. Akira glances at him. It’s now or never. Akira did say that they should tell at least some of the truth. Akechi nods at Akira, and he nods back. 

“I can,” Akechi says simply. The Phantom Thieves look at each other. They probably weren’t thinking that it would be this easy. 

“So that’s why he could understand me…” Morgana says. Akechi nods. 

“Have you two been to the Metaverse?” Kitagawa asks. Akira seems to take this question. Akechi almost feels like he’s back on one of those crappy daytime TV shows, but the interrogation here isn’t just scripted shit. 

“We have. Multiple times,” Akira says. Seems like they decided to just go with the most basic answers possible. Sakamoto’s jaw drops. 

“You went in there with him,  _ alone _ ? When he hates us?!” Takamaki sharply elbows Sakamoto, and he yelps. Akechi laughs.

“It’s okay. I already know-”

“Akira, you  _ told  _ him?-”

“Ryuji, let him finish, please.” Thank you, Akira. 

“I already know, and I have no intention of telling the police or anything. I just say what they want me to.”

“Wait, Akechi-kun, who’s ‘they?’” Fuck. The first difficult question of the day. Akira looks at him, and Akechi purses his lips.

“I can’t tell you specifically who right now, but I will tell you that it is someone very powerful, and that they see you all as a threat.”

“Why not? You just afraid that we’re gonna take out your employer or something? Is that why you’re being so honest?” Sakamoto snaps. 

“No, it’s not that. I would wish for nothing more than for him to be publicly humiliated and forced to rot in jail, but you all simply aren’t strong enough. His Palace is home to many high level Shadows. Even outside the Metaverse, he has the power to completely ruin your lives.” Wow, he’s definitely grown. If this was the last time around, he would have said that he would have loved to have been the one to bury a bullet between Shido’s eyebrows. The Thieves have worried looks on their faces, and Akira looks pissed. Oh, right. Shido fucked his life over, too. He could also be thinking about that fight they had on there. Akechi shouldn’t think about it too much, either. Morgana clambers over to sit in front of Akechi on the table. 

“Are you Crow?” Morgana asks plainly. If Akechi tells the truth here, then they’re likely going to have to explain how they know each other. But if he says no, then that just adds more problems into the mix. 

“Yes,” is all Akechi says. Akira seems to have had the same thought that Akechi just did, and his face is scrunched up in concentration. 

“Wait, but if Akechi is Crow, and the person that Akira tried to meet up with is also Crow, then how does that work?” Takamaki says. Akira bites his lip. Time for him to either fess up, or lie more. Looks like he chose the route of truth. 

“I lied. I’m sorry. I didn’t want you all to immediately get the wrong impression, and instead it’s just spiraled into whatever’s going on here. Akechi hid on a lower floor while I went and talked to you.” Akira goes quiet after this. 

“Bro, why didn’t you tell us? We could’ve at least backed you up,” Sakamoto says. Looks like the heat’s off Akechi, for now. 

“I didn’t know how you’d react, and I guess that scared me. But look at me now…” Akira says. 

“If you thought that we were gonna ditch you or something, that’s not the case in the slightest!” Akechi had really forgotten how heated Takamaki could get. He doesn’t blame her, though. 

“I agree with Ann, but,” Niijima, what are you plotting, “we still don’t know a lot about what’s going on here with these two. They act like they’ve known each other forever, there’s the matter of the twins, and the fact that we don’t know if we can trust Akechi or not.”

“Akira seems to trust him, and I want to believe his intuition is correct,” Kitagawa says. Akechi leans forward in his seat. 

“Yeah, Akechi-kun, sorry to say this, but I personally think you’re sketchy, but since Akira seems to be okay with you, I’ll go with it.” Takamaki says. 

“I’m fine with you not liking me,” Akechi says. It’s not new news. He’s also kind of impressed that the Thieves have decided to be brave enough to say this stuff to his face. Maybe it’s because Akira’s here. 

“Look, I know y’all are probably dating or something, but seriously Akira, you gotta tell us about this stuff! I can’t be worrying about my bro,” Sakamoto says. Akira looks embarrassed. His face isn’t as red as that time Akechi made Futaba turn the mics off, but he’s getting close. 

“I’m sorry, Ryuji. I really am sorry,” Akira says. 

“Are we not going to talk about the other things?” Niijima says. If she doesn’t bring up the twins, it’ll be fine. 

“Who’re those girls you two were with?” Niijima, god damn it. Akira recomposes himself.

“They’re like Jose, but they can come in and out of the Metaverse,” Akira says. Good explanation, because he’s not lying in the slightest. Just, not the whole truth. 

“Makoto, I think your thing about them knowing each other ‘forever’ probably comes from them knowing each other since their first trip to the Metaverse,” Takamaki says. Thank god she came to that conclusion. Morgana finally turns back to him. 

“You wouldn’t happen to know a person in dark clothes with a Black Mask now, would you?”

  
  



	45. Chapter 45

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY DID YOU ALL SEE THE SMTV TRAILER AND NOCTURNE REMASTER ANNOUNCEMENT???? BECAUSE I AM VERY HYPED TO PLAY NOCTURNE AGAIN IN HD THIS TIME AND SMTV ALREADY LOOKS GREAT
> 
> Anyway how are yall today?
> 
> Post publication edit: changed “mental shutdowns” to “psychotic breakdowns”

Akira watches Akechi’s face cycle through a couple annoyed emotions, before settling on a self-satisfied smirk. He looks over at Akira again, silently asking if he approves. Akira nods. Might as well rip the band-aid off now, instead of having round two of the boiler room fight. This is where Akira’s the most scared. He has no idea how the Thieves are going to react to him cooperating with the “enemy.” They kind of pitied Akechi last time, but Akechi was also the one that saved them from his cognitive form immediately after Akechi tried to kill them. Well, he can’t stop Akechi now.

“Well, of course I do. There’s a reason why my _employer,_ ” Akechi’s voice is clearly thick with disdain, “has such an interest in having me be the only one who can use the Metaverse.” 

“Why didn’t you save me!-” Morgana shrieks, but Makoto shushes him.

“Wait, Akechi-kun, don’t tell me _you’re_ the one causing the psychotic breakdowns!” Makoto says.

“Morgana, if I were the one to save you, I doubt the Thieves would have ever formed-”

“I guess you’re right,” Morgana says. 

“And, yes, Niijima-san, I am. I don’t have any choice in the matter.” Smart choice of words there, Akechi. 

“Whaddya mean ‘no choice in the matter?’” Ryuji says. 

“Let’s just say… If I stop doing what I’m told, not only will I likely ‘disappear,’ one of your last lines of defense against him will be eliminated. I can lie and lie and tell him that ‘I haven’t seen the Phantom Thieves,’ or that ‘no, I couldn’t possibly know who the Thieves are targeting next,” Akechi explains. 

“Wow…” Ann says. She looks conflicted, and the rest of the Thieves have similar faces. Yusuke looks at Akira. 

“Did you know all this, Akira?” Akira literally can’t lie here. 

“Yes, and him and I didn’t want to tell you guys until we got asked about it or something,” Akira says. He still feels tense. The Thieves don’t seem to be mad at him, at least. They stay quiet for a while again, when Makoto starts talking again. 

“Can we talk about this ourselves for a little bit?” Akira nods, and gestures for Akechi to follow him upstairs. Once they get up there, Akira immediately plunks himself down on his couch. Akechi stands in front of the couch’s side table. Both of them breathe a sigh of relief, but it’s far from over. There’s still a lot of problems that can happen here. 

“What are we going to do about Okumura if your plan fails?” Akira says quietly. Akechi looks over at him, and frowns. 

“With Shido’s skill at manipulation, I highly doubt it will. I’ll figure something out, though,” Akechi says. Akira trusts Akechi with this, but it doesn’t mean that he isn’t still paranoid. Who wouldn’t be? He almost feels like he did back in that week where he was trying to convince the Thieves to come back to reality, where he really wasn’t sure whether or not they would come back. He had kept a strong face for Akechi then, and he’s trying again now. Once more, he wishes he could be Joker here. He probably still wouldn’t know what to do, but he knows he’d probably feel a hell of a lot more confident about everything.

“What’s with that face?” Akechi says, jerking Akira out of his head. 

“I’m just thinking about some things. It’s fine,” Akira says. Akira hears Akechi make a ‘tch’ noise, but he’s already back to some nice overthinking. He wonders what exactly could be taking them so long down there. Either they’re debating something, or thinking about what to do next. Well, it’s all out of his control now. He’ll just have to sit and wait and-

Something squeezes his shoulder. Akira looks up, only to see Akechi walking back to his prior standing place. Akira tries to look at him, but he looks away. 

“I could hear you thinking all the way over here. Had to shut you up somehow,” Akechi mutters. Akira’s not sure if he’s just overthinking things again, but Akechi has definitely become nicer. Maybe it’s just for him, or Akechi’s just mellowed out in general.

“You guys can come back down now,” Ann says from downstairs. Akechi turns and walks down, and Akira quickly follows. Akira can’t judge exactly what they all seem to be thinking from their faces. Ryuji still seems pretty ticked off, Ann and Yusuke have wary, yet sympathetic looks, Makoto is just blank, and well, Akira can’t exactly read cat’s faces. Akira doesn’t want to stand in silence staring at each other any longer. 

“Is there anything you want us to do or something?” Akira says. This seems to snap them out of their muted haze. 

“Oh! Right, yeah! There was something! Ryuji, why don’t you tell them?” Morgana says. Ryuji shoots him a dirty look. 

“Fine, I guess. We wanna see what makes you oh-so-special to whoever this guy that’s bossing you around,” Ryuji grumps. Makoto crosses her arms and sighs. 

“What he means is we want Akechi to prove that he’s the Black Mask, and, possibly show us however you cause the mental shutdowns,” Makoto says. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Akechi’s eye twitch. If they want him to show his Berserk ability, that means he’s probably going to be restricted to using Loki. Wait, that’s another thing they need to talk about; whether or not they’ll reveal that Akechi’s a wild card. 

“When?” Akechi says. 

“We were thinking right now, if it’s available,” Yusuke says. Akechi sighs.

“Fine. Let’s get moving,” Akechi says. The Thieves get out of the booth, and Morgana tells Akira to go get the bag, leaving Akechi alone with the Thieves. When Akira’s up in the attic, he very quickly sends a text to Akechi, asking him if he’s going to reveal that he’s also a Wild Card. He runs back down, and Morgana hops right on in. Akira quickly glances over at Akechi, who shakes his head “no.” Well, that’s been cleared up. The Thieves all walk out, with Akechi and Akira behind them. The train ride over to Shibuya is painfully awkward, especially with a couple fangirls noticing Akechi and wanting a picture with him. 

“I hate it when people do that. It’s all so superficial,” Akechi grumbled to Akira after the girls returned to their spot in the train. But they make it to Shibuya, and Akechi activates the MetaNav. 

Interestingly enough, it seems like Caroline and Justine are going to stay visible, even with the disappearance of the Velvet Room door. Akira doesn’t know if the rest of the Thieves can see them, so he just stays quiet. Akechi’s in his real outfit again, Black Mask and all. Akira had really forgotten how much his outfit stood out, even when compared to the rest of the Thieves. 

“Dude… And I thought Akira’s outfit was edgy!” Ryuji says. From what Akira can see, Akechi’s giving Ryuji a pretty annoyed look. Akechi’s also the only one of them with a mask that can actually hide anything, so Akira’s not quite sure. 

“Let’s get moving, _shall we_ ,” Akechi says. Morgana’s already turned into the car, so Akira gets into the driver's seat. Ryuji takes shotgun, like always. This seems to bother Akechi, who instead sits directly behind Akira. Once everyone’s settled in, Akira starts driving. It’s quiet in the car, until Makoto starts talking. 

“So, Akechi, how do you cause the breakdowns?”

“Through my Persona,” is all Akechi says. 

“Is it like Akira being able to have multiple Personas?” Makoto asks.

“Might be,” Akechi says. No one says anything else as Akira, Akechi, Ann, and Makoto get forcibly ejected out of the car. Akira’s run into a Shadow. A Sui-Ki and a Kin-Ki pop out, and instead of immediately going for a Megidolaon like he usually does, Akira uses Heat Riser on Akechi. Akechi gives him a quick look.

“Why now?” Akechi shouts. 

“Use berserk!” Akira shouts back. Akechi visibly tightens his grip on his sword. Loki pops up behind him, and an aura of red light surrounds the Sui-Ki. It screeches, and immediately charges the Kin-Ki. Ann comes in for support, casting Maragion. The battle’s over before they know it, and they’re safely back in the car. 

“Holy shit!” Ryuji says once they’re all settled again.

“Are you all happy now?” Akechi says. 

“I think that’s enough,” Makoto says. Akechi’s probably happy that he doesn’t have to do any more tricks for the Phantom Thieves, so Akira turns the car around, and they leave.


	46. Chapter 46

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After the last two chapters were pretty heavy with stuff, have a light aquarium date. Also, sorry about the delay. I've been noticing that I've been making more mistakes lately, and took a day off of writing to try to help with that.

Akechi’s glad to be back in his apartment, away from the Thieves asking him to be a show pony, away from the Metaverse, away from having to lie. He’s tired, and yet it feels like every blood vessel in his body is filled with fire. It’s probably just the post-Metaverse adrenaline rush he gets every so often before the post-Metaverse crash. Or, it could be something else. Perhaps he accidentally slipped up earlier. Whatever. Not much he can do anymore. Hopefully, he’ll be getting those aquarium tickets soon. Akechi throws himself into bed, and has a fitful night of sleep, up until he wakes up in the Velvet Room. Not much of note happens, other than Yaldigor, as Akechi’s started calling him, telling him that there’s new services he can use. Seeing the silhouette of an electric chair and what looks like a hanging platform make Akechi rather curious. He’ll have to check them out next time. 

The next day at work, one of Akechi’s coworkers comes up to him. It’s not the same one that he remembers giving him the tickets. Last time, he was pretty sure that it was one of the women who worked at the front desk, but now, it’s one of the senior detectives. Looks like this particular station has many aquarium fans. 

“I was going to go with my wife, but it turns out we’re both going to be too busy to go,” he explained, “but I thought you wouldn’t let them go to waste. Take your girlfriend with you or something.” Akechi thanks him, and slips off to go text Akira. 

**August 1st, 20XX**

**12:42 pm**

**Crow: I got the tickets, finally.**

**Crow: Hoping we don’t run into that journalist friend of yours again.**

**Crow: My work acquaintance that gave me these told me to “go with my girlfriend or something”.**

**Joker: am i your gf now**

**Crow: I wonder how that would work out.**

**Joker: jk**

**Joker: when do you wanna be there**

**Crow: 6:30?**

**Joker: sounds good**

**Crow: See you then.**

Well, that’s settled then. Akechi tediously spends the rest of his time here working, fudging small details here and there based on Shido’s orders. He doesn’t dare to sneak in any of his own, as he’s unsure what effects it will have on their ‘investigation’ into the Phantom Thieves. Plus, he’s still got that feeling weighing down on him that he might have said something wrong earlier. Every so often, some of the other people working here stop by the small desk space he’s carved out for himself to drop papers off. Some of the people are familiar faces from the Conspiracy, but others are just regular workers here. Shido never bothered to make Akechi’s status important enough here for an office or even a cubicle of his own, so he stays set up at a table in the corner of the work area. Akechi doesn’t mind it too much. He likes being able to keep an eye on everyone’s movements, and he rarely gets surprised by anyone walking up to him. Also, an unobstructed view of the clock is nice. 

Finally, it’s 5, meaning that Akechi can slip out of here. He doesn’t feel like going back to the apartment to change. Not like he has much time to do that, anyway. He’s got to go figure out something quick for dinner, and then haul his ass out to Shinagawa. Eating afterwards is always an option, or going somewhere with Akira, but he hasn’t eaten at all today. So, he swings back over to the Triple 7, gets a bento, eats it quickly, and then starts making his way towards Shinagawa. On the train, he gets recognized by some fans again. He had expressed his most basic complaint about them to Akira, but he also hates how entitled they feel to his thoughts and image. No one should have a person they truly know nothing about be their main obsession. 

Akechi finally gets out of the choking closeness of the people on the train, and walks over to the aquarium. The summer heat isn’t hitting as badly as usual, which is nice. He makes it to the aquarium a bit early, which is good, but also annoying, as it increases his chances of any fans spotting him. Not too many people are here, though, with it being a Monday evening and all. After Akechi waits a little bit, Akira shows up at exactly 6:30, smiling like a fool.

“You look like you’re in a good mood,” Akechi says. 

“I like the aquarium,” Akira says, his face returning to forced neutrality. Akechi shakes his head, and they walk inside. The ticket taker looks Akechi up and down with a look of ‘wait, I recognize this guy,’ on her face, but she smiles and just waves them on through without any further conversation. Akechi gives her a silent look of thanks, but she’s already dealing with the next customers. Akira’s walking ahead, so Akechi hurries up. They take their sweet time going through the exhibits. Sounds like Akira’s been spending some time learning about the freshwater fish.

“Do you spend your free time reading fish guides?” Akechi asks after Akira talks about yet another one of the fish. 

“No, I just go fishing in the evenings when everyone’s busy. The guy that runs that place likes explaining stuff about the fish, and it’s interesting enough,” Akira says, before launching into yet another explanation of a fish. Akechi listens rather intently, as he doesn’t want to be rude. It’s also interesting to him how multifaceted Akira is. Akechi didn’t know before this that Akira liked fishing, let alone that he went to go fish on a regular basis. Akira’s explanations taper off as they move out of the freshwater section. Akechi and Akira make their way into the main room where they were with Caroline and Justine last time. Akechi still thinks the sharks are superior, by the way. Akira’s watching a school of fish rather intently. Akechi still has that weird feeling that he’s forgetting about something, and that omnipresent odd emotion that seems to pop up whenever Akira’s around. 

“Did I say anything that could have added more problems yesterday?” Akechi asks.

“I mean, you did say something about how if you rescued Morgana, then the Thieves wouldn’t have formed, but other than that I think it was pretty okay,” Akira says. He turns his attention back to the schooling fish. Right around now was when that reporter ran into them, so Akechi’s keeping his head on a swivel. He doesn’t see anyone like her around, though, and he relaxes. The only person of note is a woman in a brown jacket, with curly, short hair, who’s making an odd face at Akira. How big is Akira’s social network? And why do they all seem to think that coming here is a good thing? The woman starts coming towards them.

“Hey, Akira. Seems like another friend of yours is here,” Akechi says. Akira stops looking at the fish, and looks over where Akechi’s looking. 

“That’s my homeroom teacher,” Akira says quietly to Akechi. Well, that’s certainly interesting.

“Oh, Kurusu-kun?” she says. Akira nods. Akechi immediately goes back into Nice Boy From The TV That Talks About Those Thieves **™** mode. He won’t be talking unless she talks to him.

“Hi, Kawakami,” Akira says. Akechi quickly notes his lack of calling her Kawakami-sensei. Either he’s less of a goody two shoes than Akechi thought, or they’re friends on some level. Kawakami takes a look at Akechi.

“Is he a friend of yours? He looks really familiar for some reason… Oh, that’s right. Are you Goro Akechi?” Damn it. 

“I am,” Akechi says simply. Kawakami crosses her arms. 

“What are you doing here?” Akira asks her. 

“Well, teachers get the time off too,” Kawakami almost snaps back. It’s not ill-intentioned, as far as Akechi can tell. Kawakami continues talking, “Let me guess, you haven’t touched your summer homework yet.”

“It’s all finished, in fact,” Akira says. Kawakami looks impressed. 

“Oh? Then I guess you can go hang out with celebrities whenever you like,” she says. Akira laughs nervously. 

“It’s not like that,” Akechi says, “him and I are friends. I suppose I should thank Shujin Academy for that trip to the TV station.”

“Well, I’m glad something good came out of that trip for you. It seemed like most of the students weren’t having that good of a time. I’ll leave you two alone, now. See you after break, Kurusu-kun.” With that, she’s walking away. Akira sighs audibly. 

“I haven’t done any of my work…” Akira says. 

“Well, I think you brought that on yourself, but you still have your summer, do you not?” Akechi says. 


	47. Chapter 47

Akira’s summer break goes by fairly quickly. He’s been spending almost all of his time either hanging out with his friends, or doing any of the many activities that Tokyo has to offer. It doesn’t really seem necessary to him to go into the Metaverse, as he’s more than happy with everyone’s current strength. He does pop into the Velvet Room from time to time, but other than that, he doesn’t really think about Phantom Thief stuff. A couple of times after he had left the Velvet Room, he had returned to a few irate texts from Akechi, telling him to hurry up with whatever he was doing in there. Both Akira and Akechi know well that only the twins know how to somehow use phones in there, so Akechi’s texts are probably only just to annoy Akira a little bit. Akira gets him back for it by sending Akechi screenshots of his face from various interviews. 

The days draw closer to the Medjed deadline. Understandably, the Thieves grow more and more worried. Akira isn’t worried, but he wonders what would actually happen if the Thieves never responded to ‘Medjed.’ Akechi could probably tell him, or at least what would be the most likely thing to happen, but it’s more fun to theorize. As long as Futaba does what she needs to, he won’t need to worry about any more possible timeline screw-ups. Then later, he can ask Akechi about it, or maybe interrogate the IT President’s cognition. Futaba never really told them about what she said to convince him to blow his cover. 

Speaking of Futaba, she fully rests up in the nick of time, and shows up in Leblanc the morning of the Cleanse, much to Sojiro’s shock. Listening to him tell the story about Wakaba’s death unsettles Akira to the bone, so he’s also glad about Futaba’s sudden appearance. He’s not sure if it’s because he knows now that Akechi was the one who killed her, or if it’s because the last time he saw her, besides her cognitive form, was in Maruki’s dream world. Sojiro disappears somewhere else in the cafe after a brief conversation with Futaba, and she wonders aloud to Akira about how she feels like she’s forgetting something. Akira gently reminds her about Medjed, and they return to the Sakura household.

Akira’s never been a hikikomori, so he can’t speak on that lifestyle, but he’s still horrifyingly impressed by how much she can sleep. Especially how she immediately falls back asleep after working her hacking magic, after barely noticing Akira’s cleaning job. Akira lets her be, and takes Morgana home with him. They’ve got a very busy week coming up, anyway. As soon as they get home, the news is declaring the announcement regarding the Phantom Thieves. With how quickly the news was able to start talking about it, they must have been told to prepare a statement in advance, and publish whatever outcome occurred. Another question to ask Akechi later. 

“You seem pretty interested in the news for once,” Sojiro says. Akira must have spaced out while looking at the screen. 

“Well, I wouldn’t be surprised if a boy his age was interested in the current trends,” one of Sojiro’s elderly male customers says, “I certainly remember being tied to my TV when we first got it!” Sojiro scoffs quietly, and turns his attention back to his cigarette. Akira doesn’t have much else to do here, so he goes back upstairs. He plops himself down on his bed. It’s much later than he had expected it to be, as it only felt like a couple hours had passed when Akira was watching Futaba do her thing. He isn’t quite ready to go to bed, though, so he gets up off his bed to go walk downstairs. Making coffee for future Metaverse missions sounds like a nice busywork task. Morgana follows behind him, and takes his spot on the counter once Akira starts setting up the coffee maker. Sojiro would kill him if he knew Morgana lounged on the counter like this, but Futaba’s never snitched about him. Halfway through brewing the coffee, Akira’s phone starts ringing. It’s sitting near Morgana, so Akira can’t reach it faster than he can. 

“Morgana, who is it?”

“Why’s Akechi calling you?” Morgana says. Good question. Akechi almost never calls him, except for that one time with Makoto and in the last timeline after they talked to Maruki. 

“Don’t know. Can you answer it and put it on speaker?” Akira doesn't know if Morgana is proficient enough with touch screens. But, if he was able to teach Akira how to build infiltration tools without thumbs, he can probably whack a couple buttons on a screen. Morgana is successful, as Akira hears the sound of the call connecting. 

“Hey, oh also you’re on speaker by the way,” Akira says. Akechi makes a sound of annoyance, but starts talking anyway. 

“I didn’t feel like typing, but I wanted to complain about some things. Is Morgana there?”

“Where else would I be?” Morgana says. 

“I suppose I shouldn’t have expected anything else. Akira, are you still there?”

“Yes,” Akira says. 

“Okay, good,” Akechi says, “anyway, you know who is making me make another media appearance about the Thieves. They’re trying to whip up the frenzy even more.” There’s an implicit _even more than last time_ , but Akechi isn’t going to say that out loud. 

“I see,” Akira says. Morgana gives him an odd look.

“Why would whoever you’re talking about want to cause a frenzy about the Thieves?” Morgana says. Akira can almost see Akechi making an annoyed expression. 

“The general public loves their stories,” Akechi says, “and I remember saying that my employer sees you all as a threat.” Morgana doesn’t seem to put two and two together, but Akechi stops talking about it. 

“Do you want me to make sure Sojiro doesn’t have it on TV or something?” Akira says. Akechi scoffs on the other end. 

“Not much you can do about it when it's projected to be on every major daytime TV network, as well as every goddamn tabloid magazine.”

“Sorry.”

“I’m used to it. I don’t have much more that I can talk about,” _in front of Morgana_ , “Goodbye, Akira.”

“Bye, Goro,” Akira says, and Akechi hangs up. Akira puts the coffee away into wherever it goes when he wants to use it in the Metaverse. Now he feels ready to go to bed. 

The next morning, he wakes up relatively late once again. He knows the Thieves are likely coming over again today, so he hurries up. He comes downstairs to all the Phantom Thieves walking in, who quickly make themselves at home. Sojiro, being the dutiful cafe owner he is, brings them glasses of water. The TV buzzes in the background, tuned to the news like always. A few minutes after the Thieves settle in, the topic changes to the Medjed issue. Akira’s not sure who saw the news yesterday, but based on Ryuji’s surprised face, Akira can be almost certain that he didn’t see it. The rest of the Thieves make celebratory expressions. This is the last real celebration they’ll get for a while, so Akira doesn’t say anything. After Sojiro asks them what they’re all smirking about, Futaba comes in. Futaba hides behind Akira, and Makoto suggests going upstairs. Akira lets the Thieves talk. There isn’t anything new for him to listen to, anyway. They ask Futaba about whether or not she wants to join the Thieves, and start making their plans to hang out with her. It’s going to be a busy few days. It’s fairly late once the Thieves leave, and Akira wants to get as much sleep as he can for the rest of the week. Akechi seems to be in the mood to ruin that, however.

**August 22nd, 20XX**

**8:42 pm**

**Crow: I am here to complain again.**

**Joker: i see you feel like texting today**

**Crow: Aren’t you a snarky little trickster.**

**Crow: But yes, I do. It was also rather annoying having Morgana there.**

**Joker: youre a trickster too**

**Joker: but anyway whats up**

**Crow: :|**

**Crow: Shido’s being far more troublesome than usual about the whole Okumura thing.**

**Joker: hes doing what hes supposed to though right**

**Crow: Considering Okumura has been putting out some highly anti-Phantom Thief and fear mongering statements internally, I am almost certain.**

**Crow: But Shido has been constantly harassing me about whether or not I’ve seen any activity indicating that you all would be willing to go after him based on the Phan-site.**

**Crow: He also keeps asking me if I’ve looked into his Palace yet, which I have, but not far enough to be of any substance.**

**Crow: Truthfully, I was only able to go through there because you had Okumura-san with you.**

**Joker: i see**

**Crow: Also Shido’s been making more appearances of his own which is just fantastic.**

**Crow: I fucking hate having to see that bastard’s face more than I have to.**

**Crow: You can go back to doing whatever you were doing earlier.**

Akira puts his phone back down, but it immediately buzzes once more.

**Crow: I just remembered. What arcana represent your friends?**

**Joker: well ryujis chariot, anns lovers, yusukes emperor, makotos priestess, and futabas hermit**

**Joker: why do you ask**

**Crow: It seems I have the same associations.**

**Joker: nice now im gonna sleep since my week is gonna be busy af**

**Crow: Goodnight.**

The next week progresses pretty much the same as it did last time. The first day he spends with Futaba, Yusuke, and Makoto. The Inari nickname is once again born, and Yusuke and Futaba have their argument. The day after, Ann and Ryuji come by, and they have a nice, albeit a little boring, chat in the attic. The mask incident occurs the next day as Futaba serves coffee to customers. Akira personally finds her mask to be a little scary, so he couldn’t imagine what a random customer could be thinking. The whole gang shows up the day after, and the boys are banished down to the cafe area while the girls have Futaba try on her swimsuit. Akira’s looking forward to the beach trip, but he’s also hoping that Morgana won’t start his spiral that led him to leaving the Thieves last time. He can already notice him starting with that already, though. Nothing much of note happens the next day, with only Ryuji and Yusuke coming over for a chat and some food. However, the day after that proves to be rather interesting. It’s now the day before they go to the beach, and Akira’s supposed to help Futaba and Sojiro in the cafe. He also remembers that Akechi’s supposed to come over today.

Which is exactly what happens. Akechi walks in while Sojiro’s telling Futaba all about how miserably the fireworks festival went, so Futaba runs to go hide behind Akira again. Akira can tell that Akechi’s desperately trying to choose whether to be his nice TV personality for Sojiro, or his more real personality because of Futaba’s presence. Akechi seems to settle on a mix of the two, giving Sojiro a polite greeting and immediately sitting down in his usual spot. 

“I’ve seen you around here, but I didn’t realize until now that it was you, Mr. Detective,” Sojiro says to Akechi. Oh right, Akechi’s in his normal clothes today. Akechi flinches a little bit at the ‘Mr. Detective’ moniker, but he keeps his nice mannerisms intact. Even with Futaba hiding behind him, Akira starts making Akechi’s usual order. Akechi doesn’t seem to make any mention of Sae or Wakaba, which Akira’s a bit thankful for. Once Akira’s done, Sojiro wanders off to somewhere.

“Hi, Sakura-san,” Akechi says cooly to Futaba. She only gives him a small nod in response. Akira feels very awkward. He doesn’t know if he should start a conversation, or let Futaba try to do that herself, or wait for Akechi to say something. If he waits for Futaba to start the conversation, it runs the risk of her bringing up any of the things she overheard. Thankfully, Akechi’s the one to start talking. 

“I heard you all are going to the beach tomorrow,” Akechi says nonchalantly, “Wish I could be doing that instead of work, but you know how it is.” 

“I don’t envy you, Ace Detective,” Akira says, much to Akechi’s chagrin. 

“I told you not to call me that now, Joker,” Akechi says. Futaba gives Akira a weird look, before a lightbulb goes off in her head.

“So that’s why your nickname is Joker in that chat…” Futaba says, and she turns to look at Akechi, “You don’t look like a Crow to me.” 

“It’s… It’s a long story,” is all Akechi says. Akira laughs at him a little bit. This seems to have proved to be a good icebreaker, and they spend the rest of Akechi’s time there idly chatting. 

Finally, it’s the day of the beach trip. The only noticeable difference between this time and last time is the absence of those guys from Shinjuku. Maybe they somehow got deleted in the timeline shift, as Akira hasn’t seen them once. But whatever it is, Akira’s glad they’re gone. Akira also makes sure to slip Yusuke some extra cash in an attempt at making sure he doesn't become totally broke again, but somehow it goes towards him buying a third lobster. Whoever works at the Kosei dorms is in for a special treat when Yusuke comes back. The day ends with Futaba’s declaration to uncover the full truth, and her gaining her shiny new code name of Oracle. Akira also senses Morgana growing upset with the team’s compliments of Futaba, which Akira isn’t really sure if he should deal with or not. If Morgana doesn’t run off, there’s the chance they won’t ever meet Haru. But he doesn’t want Morgana to be upset. So, he’ll just have to try to keep things the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure if there will be a new chapter tomorrow, as I'll be doing some stuff that will take up almost my whole day, but I'm also pretty sure the next chapter isn't going to be super long so I might be able to sneak it in.


	48. Chapter 48

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, to all of you folks who comment regularly, even if I don't respond to you, let it be known that I read all of them, and that all of them make me very happy.
> 
> Also I managed to only sunburn the front of my calves.

Akechi’s about ready to shoot Shido right here and now. He’s pretty sure there’s at least one gun in here, anyway. The bastard’s only called him here to gloat, and he’s somehow already gone on and on for an hour. Usually, Shido’s more punctual than this, but it seems like bragging to a teenager about an accomplishment, that isn’t even his to begin with, is very important to Shido’s time. Sure, Shido has some hand in being the ringleader of the set up of the Phantom Thieves, but he wasn’t the one to make ‘Medjed.’ Akechi just nods and smiles whenever it seems like Shido is expecting his agreement, and after a grueling hour and a half, Shido finally tells him to get out of his sight. Goddamn. It’s almost as if a weight’s been taken off of his chest, letting him breathe again. He hates being in that room, hates being in there with Shido, but it will all be worth it in the end. It’ll be revenge done right this time. 

He’s only half thinking about what he’s actually saying to Sae-san. She’s been fairly frustrated recently due to Medjed and the Thieves’s increasing influence. Akechi’s practiced enough with his song and dance to say what she wants to hear, while also thinking about his plans of his own. It also helps that he’s had this conversation before, and can remember vaguely what he said last time. It’s probably not exactly the same, but it’s close enough, even with his mind wandering to his next plans. The Okumura situation seems to be pretty much settled, so he can’t help but think about what possibly will happen afterwards. Due to his early unmasking to the group, he can’t pull the same stunt that he did last time with the school festival. But he’s still likely going to have to deal with Sae-san’s Palace, as well as all the fuckery that comes with Akira’s ‘suicide.’ Okay, nope, he shouldn’t think about that too much. Fuck. He just hopes that Sae-san doesn’t notice his face change. He quickly shifts back into focusing fully on the situation around him. Luckily, it seems she hasn’t noticed him pull an annoyed face. She still seems somewhat lost in thought due to whatever Akechi was just saying. After a few moments of silence, Akechi gracefully removes himself from the conversation by faking an important text message. It’s kind of true, as it’s Akira texting him, but he’s just telling Akechi that he’s getting sushi with Futaba and Sojiro. He was busy yesterday too, apparently, but Akira’s entitled to his time. Especially when said time is being used to finish his summer homework that he had lied to his teacher about finishing. 

Akechi’s still pretty pissed off, and he doesn’t want to spend much more time in this area. There’s too many people that want to talk to him here, and he can’t exactly disappear into the crowd. So, he decides to go somewhere that he can. In Shibuya, he still sticks out to anyone that recognizes him, but he’s just another face in a sea of thousands. He’s not sure why he decided to go to Shibuya, but it works for a little while. That is, until he’s walking through the Underground Mall, thinking about what else he could do today, when someone taps on his shoulder. No fan of his has dared to sneak up behind him and touch him, ever, so it must be someone he knows. 

“Akechi-kun?” A girl’s familiar voice says. He turns around to see Takamaki. He isn’t happy that she touched him, but he’s a lot less mad than if it were someone like Sakamoto. She at least tries to be nice to him. 

“Oh, Takamaki-san. Hi,” Akechi says, “What are you doing here?”

“Me? I’m just doing a little window shopping. You seem like you don’t usually come around here… did something happen? You seem kind of frustrated,” Takamaki says. Now he wishes that he ran into Sakamoto, or even Kitagawa. Sakamoto seems obtuse enough to not even realize something’s up with Akechi, and Kitagawa would probably notice, but wouldn’t say anything. 

“It’s nothing. Work’s just been a bitch,” Akechi mumbles. Takamaki gives him a concerned look.

“Do you need to talk? I know you’d rather talk to Akira, but-” Several distinct voices jump out from the crowd.

“Wait, that girl’s a model, right? That’s Ann Takamaki?”

“Isn’t that guy the Detective Prince everyone’s been talking about? Who’s that girl he’s with?” 

“Goro Akechi? That’s gotta be him!” Akechi shoots Takamaki an annoyed look.

“We should go somewhere else,” he says.

“Does splitting up and meeting at the diner work?” Akechi nods, and they go their separate ways, for now. 

Akechi makes it to the diner before she does, which is both a blessing and an annoyance. If anyone notices her walk up to him, or notices the two of them in general, there go the tabloid magazines reporting that he has a girlfriend. He’s never had any interest in having one, and doesn’t understand the media’s ravenous need to look into his private life. Maybe later on he’ll date someone, but he doesn’t know who that would be. Akira’s the only person he can tolerate to be around for any long period of time, anyway. It’s a blessing that he showed up here early, though, as he’s able to pick the table that’s out of sight of most of the customers. Takamaki’s easily able to find him, and she sits down across from him. An indifferent waitress brings them both waters. 

“Usually I don’t get recognized like that, but I guess today was different,” she says. 

“It’s probably because people noticed me first, and then noticed you,” Akechi says. He slips a hand into his briefcase, and pulls out a hair tie and glasses. Ever since the disguise seemed to have somewhat worked in Leblanc, it’s been his go to.

“That’s probably it,” Takamaki says, and then she takes a solid look at him, “do you actually need glasses, or is this just some sort of disguise?” 

“Disguise. I got sick of people constantly trying to talk to me, so I thought it wouldn’t hurt too much. If it works for Akira, it’ll probably work for me,” Akechi says. Takamaki gives him a strange look while idly tracing the rim of her glass. 

“It does make you look pretty different… Also, speaking of Akira, aren’t you two dating?” 

“Why do you guys keep asking about that?” 

“I mean, neither of you have ever directly denied it, and have you even seen how you two act around each other? Oh, and there was that time when you two kicked Morgana out.” Akechi feels his face run red hot with embarrassment. Another fun quirk of this timeline seems to be that he’s more open with his emotions now. How fun. 

“It wasn’t what you’re thinking it was, and no, we aren’t dating,” Akechi says, trying to stomp as much embarrassment out of his voice as possible. Takamaki gives him another strange look.

“I’m surprised! God, you two are dense,” she sighs. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, you always seem kind of nervous around him, no matter how much you try to act it away, and don’t even get me started with Akira!” Takamaki says. Akechi’s deeply frustrated with her words, especially since she’s not lying. Why’d he have to get stuck with the most brutally honest Phantom Thief? But she doesn’t know their past, or the shit they’re dealing with with the whole Yaldabaoth situation. Of course they’d be close. And the nervousness definitely has to come from Yaldabaoth. Definitely. He’s definitely not just trying to convince himself that that’s the case. Akechi can’t explain any of Akira’s actions, though. 

“I guess there’s some truth in that.” 

“I think you and Akira need to talk.”

“About what? And you know Akira, he’ll probably just deflect and talk about me instead. He doesn’t seem to like talking about himself, if you haven’t noticed,” Akechi says, with maybe just a bit too much annoyance. Takamaki doesn’t seem to mind.

“I know the Thieves aren’t super big fans of you, but it seems like you’re able to talk to Akira in a way that the rest of us can’t. I think that’s pretty good, at least. Wouldn’t hurt to try,” Takamaki says. 

“Maybe so,” Akechi says. Takamaki whips out her ringing phone, and quickly takes the call. 

“Right now? Okay, I think I can- yes, yes, I’ll be right there. Sorry, Akechi-kun, I need to go! I hope your chat with Akira goes well,” and with that, she’s gone. Akechi breathes a sigh of relief, but hears the sound of chains snapping in his head. He’s heard that a few other times, like after talking to Sae-san and Shido, as well as Akira, but this is the first time he’s actually paid much attention to it. A brief image flashes in his mind.  _ Lovers: Rank 2. _


	49. Chapter 49

“Akira Kurusu! Are you even listening?” Ann says. Akira really needs to work on keeping his mind on the present. Right now, they’re back at the skyway, talking about what to do next. Futaba’s sitting on the ground, eagerly typing away at her computer. What were they talking about? Oh, that’s right. 

“So… what do we want to do about our next target? The Phan-site’s rankings seem a bit too crazy right now to use,” Ann says. Ryuji crosses his arms.

“I mean, we might run into a big target there, so I don’t think it’d be too bad if we kept an eye on it,” Ryuji says. 

“There’s still the problem of Akechi,” Yusuke says fairly bluntly. Makoto nods.

“Right. We know now that he’s that Black Mask behind the mental shutdowns. At least he kind of seems to be on our side?”

“Doesn’t excuse the fact that he killed my mom,” Futaba says rather quietly. Everyone gets a rather complicated look on their face.

“Right… Akira, what do you even see in this guy? He could betray us whenever he feels like it, and he’s killed at least one person!” Ryuji says. He’s not wrong. Thankfully, Makoto jumps in. 

“There’s a bigger enemy that seems to have a gun to his head,”  _ very poor choice of words,  _ “so even though Akechi-kun’s done incredibly bad things, we have bigger problems than just him. Akira, are you okay? You look kind of pale.”

“I’m fine, I just didn’t sleep that well last night,” Akira’s really going to need to start thinking of some better cop-outs, because Ann’s giving him a look of disbelief. 

“Wouldn’t it be a good idea if we tried to figure out who he’s working for? That could be the big target that finally makes us famous!” Ryuji says. Akira immediately thinks about how bad trying to go through Shido’s Palace with their current skill level could go. They might be able to scrape by, but only if they also had Akechi with them. And as of right now, Akechi probably isn’t going to help them with much. 

“If I’m not mistaken, he did say something to us about not being strong enough to deal with their Palace yet, right?” Yusuke says.

“I think he’s bluffing on that. Look, I don’t trust the guy at all. Who knows if he’s just saying what we want to hear?” Akira finally has to step in. 

“I’ve been in that Palace. We aren’t strong enough yet,” is all he says.

“Wha-  _ how?  _ Wait, doesn’t that mean you know who Akechi’s working for?” Ryuji says. Okay, maybe he shouldn’t have said that. Definitely shouldn’t have. 

“If Akira’s saying it isn’t a good idea, I’d like to take his word for it,” Yusuke says. Futaba makes a humming noise of agreement. 

“I can try to get dirt on whoever this guy is for later on. Oh, also, Makoto, your sister’s the one who’s working on the mental shutdown cases, right?” Futaba says.

“Yes…? What about it?”

“Does she ever bring anything home? Like a laptop or something?” Even now, with Akechi confessing the truth to them, Futaba still feels a need to dig into the mental shutdown case. Not surprising, plus it’s helping to keep this timeline similar to the last one. If Futaba didn’t ask to hack Sae’s computer, who knows what could happen. Futaba and Makoto talk a little bit more, until Futaba’s magic usb stick is handed over. After Makoto looks like her mind is made up, she turns to the group.

“So we’re going to watch the Phan-site for any new targets, and do some digging on whoever Akechi’s working for, right, Akira?” 

“Yes,” Akira says solidly. He isn’t going to show any weakness or fear right now, but he needs to warn Akechi that the Thieves are looking into Shido. Akira won’t be surprised if this causes their fall from grace to happen even earlier. Another thought creeps into his mind. Akechi’s still going to be taking out Kobayakawa, as well as planting a calling card in his office somehow. It’s not going to be helping his case in the slightest. 

“Well, I think that’s settled, then!” Ann says. There’s a pep in her voice that wasn’t there earlier. 

“Something’s got you excited, Ann,” Ryuji says. Ann elbows him.

“Ryuji, how could you forget? We’ve got the Hawaii trip coming up!” 

“Oh, right! Hey, why don’t we all get guidebooks or something, and when Makoto does whatever Futaba asked her to we can all get back together and talk about the trip!” Looks like he’s excited now, too. After a bit more talking, they all break off to go their separate ways. Morgana’s been acting a bit mopey recently, but when Akira tries to ask him what’s wrong on the train home, he brushes Akira off. Looks like the divide of the group is going to happen just like last time. It breaks Akira’s heart that he can’t help Morgana, but it’s a necessary evil. Once they get home, Akira fires off a few texts to Akechi.

**September 1st, 20XX**

**6:26 pm**

**Joker: so the thieves are gonna start trying to look into you know who**

**Joker: also they dont know about the kobayakawa thing**

**Crow: Fuck.**

**Crow: If we tell them now about the set up, who knows what effect it could have.**

**Crow: But if they’re looking into him, I don’t know how long it will be until I get the kill order.**

**Crow: Which one of you is looking into him?**

**Joker: futaba**

**Crow: Okay, at least she leaves no tracks.**

**Crow: I would suggest telling them as simply as possible that my next target is Kobayakawa.**

**Crow: Or don’t.**

**Crow: It’s not my choice, after all.**

**Crow: It could probably pass as a heart attack if they didn’t also decide to plant a calling card in his office.**

**Crow: Truthfully, I don’t know why he wants me to take out Kobayakawa, other than to frame you all, of course.**

**Crow: I am going to Mementos fairly soon, though.**

**Crow: Since, you know it takes some time for those mental shutdowns to kick in.**

**Joker: yeah hes kind of an odd choice**

**Joker: ill try to tell them before that happens**

**Joker: fuck shido though**

**Crow: Number one on the list of things I wish my mother hadn’t done…**

**Joker: goro akechi? making a joke?**

**Crow: No, I am completely serious.**

**Joker: aw but then i wouldnt have met you**

**Crow: Dangerous words there, dear Joker.**

**Joker: anyway ill try to tell them before hawaii**

**Crow: Hawaii?**

**Joker: my schools going**

**Crow: Sounds fun, I wish I could go.**

**Joker: you want me to tell you where were going cause if you really really want i can most definitely afford tickets**

**Joker: like at this point i have infinite metaverse money**

**Joker: my wallet literally is completely full**

**Crow: Hmmm…**

**Crow: I may take you up on that offer, however I am more than capable of paying for myself.**

**Crow: I’ll take the information.**

Akira sends Akechi the information about where they’re going in Hawaii, and mere minutes later, Akechi responds with screenshots of receipts for a plane ticket and hotel reservations. Akechi really doesn’t play around. He should probably tell the Thieves that Akechi’s coming. Or, he could just not do that. No, he probably should, but that’ll be later. 

‘Later’ comes rather quickly. The Thieves are scattered around Futaba’s room, with some of them leafing through travel magazines. Futaba’s engrossed in her work. Akira knows she’ll break their concentration, if you could call it that, eventually with information from Sae’s laptop, so he needs to bring up his stuff about Akechi soon. Ann and Ryuji make that easy, though. 

“Oh, this looks so cute! If only I had a boyfriend to go with,” Ann says about something in the travel brochure she’s reading. Ryuji reaches up and snatches it out of her hand to look at it.

“Hey, I think our resident detective lover would like this! It’s a shame he isn’t a Shujin student, right, Akira?” Ryuji says in a teasing tone. This might also be some sort of apology for telling Akira that he doesn’t like Akechi, but Akira doubts that. 

“He is coming with us, though,” Akira says plainly. Ryuji just about falls off of Futaba’s bed.

“What! Come on, man! Don’t tell me he’s gonna try to keep tabs on us or something!”

“Nah, nothing like that. He might go hang out with me, but he’s not sticking around any of the school groups.”

“He better do what I told him to…” Ann mumbles. What could that be about?

“Ann? Did you say something?” Yusuke asks.

“Oh, it’s nothing.” 

“Heyyyyy! I don’t know what you’re all talking about, but come look at all this data!” Futaba says. They crowd around Futaba’s desk, where endless information scrolls on her monitors. 

“Anything new regarding Akechi?” Yusuke asks. 

“Nothing as far as I can see… But there is definite investigation happening! Also, there’s some weird inconsistencies here and there, but I’m not sure if that’s an accident.”

“That’s probably Akechi intentionally screwing up information. Sometimes he does it to benefit us, sometimes he’s told to do it,” Akira says. 

“Why would the police have him on the case then?” Yusuke says. Surprisingly, Ryuji jumps in. 

“Well, think about it. If your boss is as powerful as Akechi’s saying his boss is, then he’ll probably be able to pull strings to put you on a case and make you popular, all the while fudging info and making you take out the people in his way,” Ryuji says.

“I see,” Yusuke says.

“I almost feel bad for Akechi-kun,” Makoto says. Akira coughs awkwardly.

“Uh, I know how you guys were just saying how you feel bad for him and what not, but he told me who the next person to have a mental shutdown is.” Everyone freezes. 

“Who?” Ann asks. 

“It’s Kobayakawa. We-”

“What! Are they gonna try and freaking frame us or something!” Ryuji cuts him off. Akira gives him a dejected look, and nods. They all collectively sigh. Makoto takes a look at the group.

“I think this gives us all the more reason to lay low for now. I’m very upset with Akechi’s actions, but I’m glad he was willing to tell you. We can’t get too cocky.” 

“Thank you for that, Makoto,” Akira says, “Let’s all enjoy our trips. Morgana, Futaba, do you guys want any souvenirs?” And with that, the conversation has been successfully redirected. 


	50. Chapter 50

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note that all of the next hawaii chapters are just going to be indulgent shippy stuff before we get to the "fun" parts coming up with Okumura's Palace. But I don't think you guys are going to be complaining about fluff.

Akechi’s always held an odd fondness for airports. He doesn’t travel much, but it brings him back to times where things were simpler, where he’d play with his toy planes and be the hero. Those dreams are long gone, but their empty space is comforted by the endless movement and the quiet chattering of the people around him. In Shibuya, he was just a face in a crowd, but here, he’s a face in a crowd of people who will likely never see each other again. Well, other than the crowds of Shujin students milling around. He somehow managed to get a ticket for the same flight that Shujin’s taking, which in hindsight was a pretty bad idea. Another bad idea of his was getting a room at the hotel they’re staying at. Hopefully, it’s out of sight somewhat. He hasn’t seen Akira yet today, which is fairly annoying, but it’s best he doesn’t move around too much and draw attention to himself looking for him. Also, he isn’t going to give up his seat. It’s right next to the window and a power outlet. Not even Akira could get him to move from here. Okay, maybe Akira could get him to move, but not anyone else. 

But even with his elaborate disguise of wearing a hood and looking out the window, people still take notice of him. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see two girls in Shujin uniforms staring at him and whispering to each other. If they realize who he is, Akechi’s fucking dead, but it seems like they haven’t figured that out. At least his popularity isn’t that high right now. After a couple more minutes of them whispering to each other, one of them boldly walks up to him. 

“Um, we were wondering where you got your hoodie from,” she says. Her face is rather red. Seems like she’s not here to ask him about whether he’s Goro Akechi or not. 

“Oh, this old thing?” Akechi says as neutrally as possible, “No clue. It’s been in my closet since forever.” She makes a sad face, but then suddenly perks up. Her face is still that same shade of red.

“Well, um, sorry to ask… Uh, you’re kind of cute! Can I have your number?” Interesting. It’s certainly not the first time he’s been hit on, but usually that’s in the frame of reference of hitting on Goro Akechi, not hitting on a random guy at the airport. 

“Sorry, I have a bo-, I have a girlfriend,” Akechi says. Damn it, Takamaki really was right. He is dense. And he does need to talk to Akira. The girl makes a disappointed face, and walks off to join her friend. Akechi’s mad at himself for the slip of tongue, partially because now he has to confront reality, and partially because he really hopes that she doesn’t recognize him. Damn it, where’s Akira. He doesn’t want to deal with any more reality checks right now. He shoves his headphones back on under his hood, and tries to zone out as best as he possibly can. Zoning out comes at a price though, as the many Personas he’s shoved into his head won’t shut up. Loki and Valkyrie won’t stop arguing, a couple others that he can’t discern endlessly screech or talk amongst themselves, and Hereward, the most powerful one he has kicking in there, doesn’t keep them in line at all. He doesn’t understand how Akira’s stayed sane these past couple of years. Speaking of Akira, a familiar group walks by. He pauses his music, and takes off his headphones. 

“Man! I can’t believe it, we’re actually going to Hawaii!” Sakamoto says rather loudly. Looks like he’s excited. 

“Ryuji, keep your voice down!” Takamaki says. Niijima’s there, too, and she looks rather annoyed with the two of them. In the back of the pack of Thieves is Akira, who’s surreptitiously looking around the area. Akechi doesn’t want to suddenly draw attention to himself, but he does take his hood off. Akira quickly notices him, thankfully, and says something to the rest of the Thieves. Akechi quickly yanks his hood back up as the Thieves come over to him. 

“Hey,” Akira says, and Akechi waves slightly. Takamaki sighs. Great, she’s probably going to lecture him again soon. 

“So you weren’t kidding…” Sakamoto says. 

“I won’t be getting in your way,” Akechi says. The mood is awkward, with Takamaki giving him a death stare, and Niijima and Sakamoto not looking like they want to talk. Akira looks like he wants to say something, but just as he’s about to, the Shujin students are called to regroup. Akira gives him an apologetic look, but walks off to the rest of the group. Damn it. Takamaki passes by him, and purposefully drops a piece of paper in front of him. It’s a phone number. Looks like he’s going to get lectured over text, instead of sleeping like he had planned. He texts the number. 

**September 7th, 20XX**

**7:25 pm**

**AkechiGoro: What do you want?**

**TakamakiAnn: Oh good you got the hint**

**AkechiGoro: So you are here to lecture me.**

**TakamakiAnn: >:|**

**TakamakiAnn: Im so sick of seeing you two dance around each other!**

**TakamakiAnn: If you dont at least talk to him by the end of the trip im gonna do something**

**AkechiGoro: Oh? Like what?**

**TakamakiAnn: I don’t know but I’ll figure something out!**

**AkechiGoro: Noted.**

**AkechiGoro: Have you talked to him?**

**TakamakiAnn: I will on the plane dont worry!**

**AkechiGoro: Okay.**

Fuck, she’s deadly serious. Well, at least for now he can ignore it, as he has to wait for the plane to take off before the wifi kicks on. He’s glad he thought ahead, and bought a whole section of seats. It’s surprising he was lucky enough that the two of them were open, but hey, he’s taking full advantage. He’s also decently far away from any Shujin students, thankfully, so he takes the opportunity to lay down and get a bit of a rest in.

After an hour or so, they finally reach cruising altitude, and Akechi makes sure to sign into the wifi using Shido’s bank details. He had told Shido that this trip was for the express purpose of watching the Shujin students for any hints regarding the Phantom Thieves, as well as being ‘out of the way’ once Kobayakawa passes away. But fuck that nonsense. He’s going to try to have a good time, as well as deal with Ann’s demands of him. Speaking of which…

**8:37 pm**

**TakamakiAnn: You were right about the guy deflecting his problems….**

**TakamakiAnn: Also god i said you two were dense but i think i was severely underestimating just how dense!**

**AkechiGoro: Great.**

**AkechiGoro: I’m going to sleep.**

**TakamakiAnn: Ok! You better talk to him, though!**

**AkechiGoro: I know, I know.**

Akechi isn’t even able to try to fall asleep when his phone buzzes again. 

**8:41 pm**

**Joker: where are you sitting**

**Crow: Uh.**

**Crow: Did Takamaki-san put you up to this?**

**Joker: no i just wanna say hi and sorry for being awkward earlier**

**Crow: Oh.**

**Crow: 35f and g.**

**Joker: coming your way**

“Sorry for bugging you,” Akira says. Akechi pulls himself back into a sitting position, and gestures for Akira to sit down next to him. 

“It’s not a problem,” Akechi says. Akira laughs a little, and belts himself into the seat next to Akechi. Seems like he’ll be here a while. Not like it bothers Akechi, anyway. 

“Anyway, I kind of needed an out. Mishima’s already talking about the Phan-site, again.”

“That guy? Why didn’t you tell me he’d be here?” 

“Didn’t I tell you he’s in my class?” 

“I guess you did,” Akira gives him a smirk. 

“Oh, and you’ll love this,” Akira says.

“What now?” 

“Him and I are sharing a hotel room,” Akechi groans on Akira’s behalf. 

“I’ve only talked to the guy for like two minutes and I hate him. How’re you gonna handle that?”

“I mean, he’s not a bad guy, just annoying about the Thieves. Oh! Also, just remembered. One of these nights, Ryuji and Ann are gonna come over to the room. You want to come over then?” 

“Huh?” Akechi’s surprised by this proposition, but also isn’t, “I guess I can.” Harassing Mishima with his mere presence might be fun, but being stuck in a closed room with Takamaki and Akira might be problematic. Whatever, he’s been shot before. This should be nothing. Akira smiles slightly. 

“Good,” is all he says. 

“I was going to sleep, but since you’re here, I guess we can keep talking,” Akechi says.


	51. Chapter 51

Akira’s in a bit of a tough situation. Ann had essentially cornered him earlier, as they were all getting on the plane. 

“When will you and Akechi-kun stop being so dense and get your heads out of the sand!” she had said, “I want you two to actually talk to each other for once and realize what’s going on!” She never specified exactly what she wanted them to talk about, but Akira’s got a pretty good idea. He’s not completely oblivious to what’s been going on between him and Akechi, after all. But he’s still not sure if this is just how Akechi really is once all of the walls he puts up around him have fallen, or if there’s something more going on. Whatever it is, it’s been causing him to have a lot of fun feelings. It wasn’t like this last time around when he dated Sumire, as they had always had a good friendship that transitioned rather smoothly into a relationship. But Akechi? That’s a whole other situation. Akira would be the last person to say that him and Akechi have any sort of normal relationship, and adding any romantic feelings to it just makes it more confusing. He’s come to terms that he has at least some sort of crush, but actually talking about it or acknowledging it scares him a bit. 

Especially since right now, he’s trapped by a sleeping Akechi with his head on his shoulder. Akira still isn’t quite sure how they ended up in this situation, and he needs to figure out how to get out of it to go back to his seat soon. They were just talking, but Akechi started to nod off, and here they are now. Akira’s glad the plane’s dark. He’s probably red faced, considering he feels the same way he did that time when Akechi got way too close to him to make Futaba turn off her spycams. There’s no way for him to know whether or not Akechi’s a light sleeper. All he can do now is try to extract himself out from under him, and get moving. Akira tries to push Akechi into an upright position as best he can, slips out from the seat, and makes a break for it. When he looks back, Akechi seemingly hasn’t stirred, so he’s safe for now. 

“Kurusu, where on earth did you go? You were gone for like an hour!” Mishima says as Akira slides past him and Ryuji to get back to his seat. Akira pretends that he didn’t hear Mishima, who doesn’t repeat his question. Ryuji’s dead asleep, so he can’t comment on Akira’s disappearance. Across the aisle, he can see Ann staring at him, surprised. Moments later, his phone lights up. 

**10:02 pm**

**TakamakiAnn: Did you two talk??**

**TakamakiAnn: You were gone for so long……..**

**KurusuAkira: not in the way you were hoping**

**KurusuAkira: he did kinda fall asleep on me tho**

**TakamakiAnn: 0.0 !!**

**TakamakiAnn: Why can’t you two just talk to eachotheeeeerrr**

**KurusuAkira: its complicated**

**KurusuAkira: im going to sleep now too**

**TakamakiAnn: We’re going to talk about this when we get there, though!**

**KurusuAkira: oki**

Akira wakes up just in time to see the plane begin its descent into Hawaii. It’s just as pretty as he remembers it being, with the clear ocean and sandy beach painting a rather lovely scene. If Yusuke were on the same flight as them, Akira would probably be subject to an impromptu speech about nature’s beauty. But Ryuji’s the one on the plane with him, so instead Akira’s roughly shoved aside so Ryuji can look out the window. Ryuji continues to eagerly look around when they’re on the bus going to the hotel. Akira honestly should have let him have the window seat. He’s still a little bit surprised he didn’t see Akechi anywhere in the airport, but then again the guy’s pretty good at sneaking around. It’s still a bit odd that Akechi hasn’t texted him at all. Maybe Akira should try reaching out. 

**September 8th, 20XX**

**8:32 am**

**Joker: did you make it out of customs ok**

**Joker: goro**

**Joker: gorooooooooo**

**Crow: Akira, you do not need to worry so much.**

**Crow: I’m fine.**

**Crow: I’m in a taxi, and my connection’s pretty bad.**

**Crow: Text me when you get to the hotel.**

**Joker: will do.**

That answers that, and Akira puts his phone away. Since he didn’t mention anything about what happened on the plane, Akira can safely assume that he slept through Akira’s sneaky escape. Or, he woke up, and isn’t going to bring it up just yet. Whichever it is, Akira can only hope that their next in person conversation isn’t awkward. 

“Dude, the AC in here is freezing, how’s your face so red? I hope you didn’t catch anything on the plane here,” Ryuji says. Akira shrugs, and tries to dispel any thoughts of Akechi from his mind. However, he had forgotten that Ann’s sitting behind him. She gives him a hearty whack over the head from behind his seat with a rolled up magazine, causing Ryuji to whip around and ask her what was that for. Akira sighs. This is going to be a long trip. 

They finally get over to the hotel, where Akira catches a glimpse of someone who looks like Akechi standing at the reception desk. Considering the lengths that person goes to to keep their face mostly concealed from the crowd of Shujin students, Akira is almost certain that he’s Akechi. But as much as he wants to go talk to him, he doesn’t, as drawing any and all attention to himself or Akechi would be bad. He quickly sends Akechi a text telling him he’s here, and meets up with his friends for room assignments. Ryuji’s still incredibly excited to be here. Who wouldn’t be? It’s Hawaii. Ann’s embarrassed by Ryuji’s overenthusiasim, and Mishima is dispensing random facts again. After a few minutes and some nudging from Kawakami and Makoto, their room assignments are decided, and they all head upstairs to put their stuff away. The four of them are standing in the elevator when Mishima decides to start talking.

“So, Kurusu, you never did tell me why you disappeared for an hour,” he says. Ryuji looks confused.

“What happened? Wait, don’t tell me you went to go talk-.” He’s cut off by a sharp elbow from Ann. Mishima gives them a strange look, and Ann whispers something in Ryuji’s ear. He frowns, but says nothing more. 

“Talk to who? You got a secret girlfriend or something?” Mishima says. Ann shoots a pointed look in Akira’s direction. 

“Kinda,” is all Akira says. Ann makes a self-satisfied face. She’s probably thinking that Akira’s finally pulling his head out of the sand, which isn’t wrong. But, it’s not so much him realizing he likes Akechi, it’s more that they have a weird relationship that needs discussion. Mishima and Ryuji look confused, Mishima more so, but the conversation is dropped. Finally, they go their separate ways, with Mishima following him into the room they’re going to share for the next few days. Akira starts getting set up, and it doesn’t take long for Mishima to start talking about the Phan-site. Akechi’s his unseen saviour, though. 

**8:54 am**

**Crow: I assume you’re going to go hang out with your friends today.**

**Joker: yeah**

**Joker: ill probably be free in the evening**

**Crow: Alright.**

**Crow: I was going to go scope out the area today anyway.**

**Joker: nice i think were gonna go to the beach**

**Joker: mishimas been pretty suspicious of me ever since the flight cause i was talking to you for too long apparently**

**Crow: Well he’s just going to deal with that, isn’t he?**

**Crow: Also, I think that was the best that I’ve ever slept on a plane. It’s honestly somewhat unsettling how calm I can get around you.**

**Joker: um**

**Crow: Did I go too far?**

**Joker: no**

**Joker: not at all**

**Joker: its just**

**Joker: do you happen to remember anything from when you fell asleep to when you woke up**

**Crow: I mean, I’m aware you left at some point, but other than that, nothing.**

**Crow: Is there a specific reason?**

**Joker: oh ok**

**Joker: ill tell you later**

**Crow: ?**

**Crow: Okay then.**

**Crow: I’ll see you later then, I assume?**

**Joker: yes just tell me where**

**Crow: Understood.**

“Are you texting this girlfriend of yours again?” Mishima says from across the room. Guess he finally noticed that Akira wasn’t really listening to him. 

“And my friends too,” Akira says. They’ve been texting in the background, discussing meeting plans. Mishima seems to get the implication that they’ve been discussing plans, so he goes quiet. Akira digs his swimsuit out from his bag, changes, and goes downstairs. He ends up bumping into a familiar face more quickly than expected.

“Oh, Akira, hi. Looks like we had the same idea of when to leave,” Akechi says. Seeing Akechi in his hoodie disguise was weird enough the first couple of times, but he got used to it. Akechi in a tank top and swim trunks is a whole other story. 

“Yeah, hi. You fit right in,” Akira says. Akechi looks smug. 

“I had to disguise myself somehow, you know. Shido probably wouldn’t like it too much if some adventurous paparazzo saw me or us,” he says. It’s nice to hear some of his snark after dealing with Mishima’s endless Phan-site droning. Sadly, they both notice the other Thieves starting to come into the lobby, so Akechi waves goodbye and disappears out one of the exit doors. Akira walks over to meet up with the rest of the Thieves. 

The four of them have a nice time on the beach, and discuss some other activities they might want to do. It’s starting to get a bit late, so they all decide to return to the hotel for now. Akira texts Akechi to meet him in the lobby.

“You look like you got some sun,” Akira says as he walks up to Akechi. His face is rather sunburned. 

“Sometimes some of us forget sunscreen, Akira,” Akechi says, “and also this is the only time some of us will get to ‘cut loose,’ as they say.” 

“So you’re being rebellious by not wearing sunscreen.”

“You’re annoying, you know.”

“Of course. Where are we going?” Akira says. He can see that a couple people have started to scrutinize Akechi, so it’s best that they get moving before anyone recognizes him. 

“I mean, considering you’re still in your swimsuit, we’re not going anywhere fancy or anything. I saw a couple food trucks that might be interesting.”

“Then let's go, then.”


	52. Chapter 52

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Hands you this*

Akechi and Akira walk along the beach, the waves and the setting sun making for a nice view. He’s fairly happy for once. Not having to deal with any Metaverse bullshit, or Shido, or any of the other crap that comes with being in Tokyo is doing wonders for him. Still probably should have worn sunscreen, though. His sunburn hurts like a bitch. Hopefully it goes away or turns into a tan before he gets back to Tokyo, because if he ends up having to go on TV for some reason, they’ll probably slather him in full coverage foundation. But whatever. He’s still got a few days before he has to go back, and should be enjoying his time as much as Akira seems to be, who has just handed his food to him to go chase down a crab. 

“Akira, I can’t hold all of this, get your ass back over here!” Akechi shouts a bit too loudly, but Akira has already sprinted away in search of the crab. Damn it. Akechi sits down in the sand, and waits for that idiot to come back, hopefully without any crab companions. 

“Goro, help,” Akira says. Looks like Akechi was wrong to hope, as Akira currently has a small crab dangling off of his finger. Akechi shakes his head. 

“You got yourself into this situation. And besides, I’m already holding your food,” Akechi says. Akira pouts, and shakes his hand until the crab flies off and skitters away. He sits down next to Akechi, and takes his food back from him. They sit like this for a while, eating their food and watching the sunset. Akechi knows that eventually he’s going to have to acknowledge the elephant of Ann’s demands for a conversation in the room, but for now, he likes it just like this. Another question itches at the back of his brain, however. Considering Akira asked him if he remembered anything from when he was sleeping on the plane, something must have happened. And based on how Akira didn’t seem to want to talk about it, it must have either been something embarrassing for him, or something that happened to him that wasn’t good. 

“This tastes exactly how it did last time,” Akira says through a mouthful of food. 

“It’s decent, I suppose,” Akechi says, and then he hears someone’s phone buzz. He reaches to check his pocket, but Akira’s already got his out. 

“Mishima’s asking me if I’m ever gonna come back or if I’m spending the night with my girlfriend.”

“Am I said ‘girlfriend?’” Akechi says. Akira turns red again. Looks like Akechi’s not the only one who’s been showing his emotions more blatantly recently. 

“Well- I mean, he asked if I had a secret girlfriend when Ryuji asked me if I went to talk to you on the plane or not.”

“I see,” it’s now or never for him to ask, “What happened on the plane, anyway?” Akira looks momentarily embarrassed, but then collects himself and slips into a mask of neutrality. 

“You fell asleep on me,” is all Akira says.

“That’s it?”

“Huh? Yeah, that’s all that happened. You’re not mad at me for not waking you up or anything?” 

“Why would I be mad? It’s you. Not like I fell asleep on some random fan or a friend of yours. Mishima’s still texting you, by the way,” Akechi points at Akira’s lit up phone. Akira seems to be glad for the diversion. 

“I think he’s given up hope on me coming back, but he also wants to know who I’m with- wait, hey!” Akechi has a terrible idea, and he hopes Akira doesn’t hate him too much for it. He grabs Akira’s phone, quickly opens the camera, takes a picture of the two of them, and sends it to Mishima. Akira takes his phone back from Akechi, and sighs in mock disappointment when he sees what Akechi’s done. 

“Oh he’s going to freak out,” Akira says while laughing. Okay, good, he’s not mad. His phone is another story, as it starts vibrating furiously with all the texts coming in. Akira signals for Akechi to look. 

**September 9th, 20XX**

**8:43 pm**

**MishimaYuuki: WHAT**

**MishimaYuuki: KURUSU**

**MishimaYuuki: DON’T TELL ME**

**MishimaYuuki: IS THAT AKECHI**

“Hey, Goro, smile!” Akira says. Akechi scowls as Akira takes another picture of him. He can’t exactly refuse, because of his phone stealing antics just a few moments ago. Akira scoots back to how he was, and continues showing Akechi his phone.

**KurusuAkira: Sent an Image.**

**MishimaYuuki: WHAT!!!!!!!!**

**MishimaYuuki: WHAT IS HE DOING HERE HOW DID HE GET HERE**

Akira hands Akechi his phone. 

**KurusuAkira: I walked here, of course.**

**MishimaYuuki: ???? Is that Akechi or has Kurusu completely changed his typing style????**

**KurusuAkira: he did**

**MishimaYuuki: Who am I talking to?????**

**MishimaYuuki: Kurusu please come back im so confused**

**KurusuAkira: No.**

**KurusuAkira: no**

**MishimaYuuki:** **(ﾉಥ益ಥ)ﾉ**

“I think Mishima’s given up,” Akechi says. Akira’s got a mischievous look on his face now. They don’t call him Joker for nothing, after all. 

“I think he’s going to be pretty freaked out when he sees us in person.”

“Oh, right, I’m supposed to come over one of these nights, right? God, Takamaki’s going to kill me,” Akechi says, muttering the last sentence to himself. Akira raises his eyebrows. Guess he heard him say that. 

“Ann’s been talking to you too, right?” Akira says quietly. Fuck. He has to bite the bullet and talk about this at some point, but he just wasn’t expecting it to be now. 

“Yeah. I heard she tried talking to you, but you were ‘too dense,’ apparently.”

“Really? I probably should’ve actually told her why it was complicated…”

“What do you mean?” Akira rubs his nose and tries to hide his face somewhat after Akechi says this. 

“It’s just…”

“Spit it out. It’s not like I’m going to ditch you at this point.”

“Well, I mean, you know how we don’t have a normal relationship by any means, right?”

“I think you’re underestimating how ‘normal’ anything about us is, Akira.” 

“Yeah, you’re right. But, anyway, it isn’t helping me out with a current problem,” Akira says. Akechi suddenly remembers something. He quickly zones out and looks into the part of his brain where his bonds lay, and finds Justice. Rank 8. Snapping back into reality, Akira has a slightly worried look on his face.

“Before you say anything, yes, I’m fine. One question though. What rank is my confidant for you?” Akira looks like he’s thinking about something, but then makes a strangled noise and comes back to the present. 

“Eight. Which means…”

“What? You know I didn’t deal with these last time.”

“Well, whenever I get to this rank with any of my girl friends, they usually ask me out or tell me that they loved me, and now it’s just. I don’t know.” Akechi feels that weird feeling he always feels around Akira. Takamaki’s right. Takamaki’s very, very, right. No matter how much he tries to shove aside or pretend that any of his feelings are a side effect of Yaldabaoth or the past, they still continue to exist. Akechi looks at Akira. 

“You’re going to confess now, yourself, or something?” Even if Akechi’s actual social skills are those of a brick wall, he’s learned well enough about reading people. Although, his own desire to deny anything that might be seen as affection gets in the way sometimes. Maybe it’s from countless fans professing their fake love for him, or maybe it’s from never truly having someone who cared about him before Akira. The bastard’s wish that Maruki granted was to bring Akechi back, if that proves anything. Maybe it just proves Akira’s savior complex, but still. Akechi’s almost certain no one else in his life, including the other Thieves, would do that. 

“Yeah,” is all Akira says, and it’s enough for Akechi. Sappiness and sentimentality have never been something that he appreciates. And at this point, it isn’t needed. Still though, it feels like something very hot has been placed on the back of his neck and face, and it isn’t from the sunburn. Akira finally stops looking at the sand, looks over at Akechi, and immediately laughs. He jabs a finger out to poke Akechi on the cheek. Seems like he can actually be bold when he wants to. 

“What was that for?” Akechi says.

“Nothing, just wanted to see if that was from the sunburn or if you were blushing.” 

“Oh, you’re one to talk, Akira. You look like you’ve had one too many drinks with how red you get any time I do anything remotely nice around you.”

“That’s not very princely of you to say.”

“I thought you were better at comebacks than this,  _ Joker _ .”

“Shut it, Crow.” Both of them are in fairly high spirits, but it is starting to get rather late. They decide to talk more later, and walk back together to the hotel. Akechi drops off Akira at his room, and scuttles into the hallway before Mishima can see him. He’s delaying his grand reveal to the Phan-site admin. He starts to make his way back to his room, and sends a text to Takamaki, fully expecting her not to respond. 

**September 9th, 20XX**

**9:44 pm**

**AkechiGoro: It has been done.**

**TakamakiAnn: !!!!!!**

**TakamakiAnn: How did it go??**

**AkechiGoro: Well.**

**TakamakiAnn: Are you actually dating now?**

**AkechiGoro: Might be.**

**TakamakiAnn: Ughhhh why can’t you two settle on something**

**AkechiGoro: Do I look like someone who knows what they’re doing?**

**TakamakiAnn: I guess…**

**AkechiGoro: I’m going to bed. Night.**

**TakamakiAnn: gn!**

Akechi flops down on the hotel bed. His bed at home is a far cry from the quality of this one, but he doesn’t like the wrongness that comes from sleeping in hotel beds. Well, he’s probably not going to get much sleep tonight, anyway. His face still feels like it’s on fire in more ways than one. Might as well say good night to Akira, and try his best to sleep. Just as he’s about to fall asleep, he checks his confidants one more time. Justice is now rank 9, and Lovers is rank 3. 


	53. Chapter 53

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> three things  
> 1\. big boy chapter  
> 2\. this fic is two months old tomorrow  
> 3\. Me writing the angsty part of this: is writing  
> My cat: does a big stretch  
> Me: :o

“Akira, where- what on earth have you been doing? Why is Akechi here in Hawaii?” Mishima says once Akira’s inside the hotel room. Akira’s not sure how he wants to answer, or if he even wants to. His mind is still racing a mile a minute after what he said to Goro, after all. He’s almost certain at this point that there’s at least some reciprocation of feelings happening here, but every so often intrusive thoughts pop into his mind, screaming that this is the end of the line for him and that Goro’s going to betray him. Akira pretends that it’s Yaldabaoth talking. Honestly, it might actually be, with how much he tries to drive a wedge between him and Goro. Only time will tell, and if Goro talks to him later tonight or tomorrow about another one of Yaldy’s weird dream bullshit. 

“Kurusu, did you hear me?” Mishima says. Oh, right. He should have probably responded. 

“Yeah, I did, sorry. Also, that’s a secret,” Akira says with a wink. Mishima groans. 

“I don’t understand you sometimes, Kurusu. Why would you even want to hang out around him? He hates the Thieves!” Akira silently prays to whatever not-control freak gods that are out there in hope that Mishima won’t start talking about the Phan-site, or any other Phantom Thief related topics. It isn’t what he needs right now. 

“Once again, that’s a secret. It wouldn’t be good if too many details about his personal life got out, after all,” like usual, Akira isn’t  _ technically _ lying. Just nowhere near the full truth. Mishima sighs again. 

“My lips are sealed. But, don’t tell me you two are like, dating or something,” Mishima says. Akira gulps. All he did was confirm to Goro that there were some feelings between them. Nothing about them dating was brought up, or anything. But today already took enough out of Akira. He’ll ask Goro later, if he ends up having enough guts to talk to him about that again. 

“Who knows?” Akira decides to say in a sly tone. Mishima looks visibly frustrated. Maybe he was a little too mean to him over the course of today. Akira flops himself down on his bed, before realizing he’s still in his swimsuit and has now covered his bed in sand. He gets back up, goes into the bathroom to change, and when he comes back, Mishima’s already tucked himself into bed, and is staring at the glowing red screen of the Phan-site. As much as Mishima can get on his nerves, he’s a good ally to have, and is clearly trying his best. Akira says good night, and tries his best to sleep. 

The next day, Yusuke joins them, just as expected. Akira’s glad to see the guy, and the rest of the Thieves seem to be as well, even through their surprise. It’s a shame he didn’t get to go to Los Angeles, though. He seemed pretty excited about it. They end up deciding to go shopping, as there are still souvenirs that need to be bought. Akira’s stomach drops when they end up walking by the Big Bang Burger. It’s a nasty reminder of what’s to come, and that these last few days are all they get before shit hits the fan. Kobayakawa hasn’t passed away yet, as far as Akira knows. But from his last cursory check of the Phan-site this morning, Okumura is already rapidly climbing the ranks. Goro would likely know whether or not they’ve already started screwing with the rankings, but he probably doesn’t want to be asked about any Shido related stuff right now. Speaking of him, Akira hasn’t heard anything from him at all today, other than a good morning text. Hopefully, it’s not related to anything from last night. Maybe Akira should clarify. 

**September 9th, 20XX**

**10:47 am**

**Joker: hello my dear crow how are you doing**

**Crow: I’m doing okay. Just rather tired.**

**Joker: youre not hiding in your hotel room or something right**

**Crow: What do you take me for?**

**Joker: sorry**

**Crow: I’m walking around the shopping center.**

**Crow: I saw you a few times, but since you’re with your friends, I didn’t want to bother you.**

**Joker: i see**

**Joker: also im pretty sure tonight is the night were everyone comes and shacks up in my room**

**Crow: Just tell me when to come over and if you want me to bring anything.**

**Joker: thanks**

Well, he failed to clarify anything, but at least he knows Goro’s not upset with him. That’s a relief. Those intrusive thoughts were starting to get to him. He shoves his phone back into his pocket as the Thieves stop walking. It’s the same place they were last time, when him, Ryuji, and Yusuke went around asking people about the Phantom Thieves. Which means that Ann and Makoto are about to leave them to go do whatever they need to do. Oh, right, Ann forgot her sunscreen. After she tells them that, the girls walk away. Ryuji starts getting antsy after a few minutes. Apparently, he’s been hearing things about the Phantom Thieves, and wants to go around and ask about it. Akira agrees, but is starting to kick himself mentally. He had noticed last time that the Thieves had a rapidly swelling ego, even before Morgana left the team. But now, he’s totally aware of the whole situation, both presently and in the future, and he’s not doing anything about it. Last time was scary enough, and with this timeline having added Goro’s memories to it, who knows what could happen. He can only try to minimize the damage where he can. Talking to Haru only solidifies that, as knowing what’s going to happen to her breaks his heart. He wants to break their current conversation topic, hug her, and tell her that he’s sorry. But he can’t. He has to save his sympathy until after it happens. 

“Uh, Akira, are you good? Your hand’s bleeding,” Ryuji taps him on the shoulder and whispers this to him as the rest of the group is distracted by Ann and Makoto’s reappearance. Akira unclenches his fist. Looks like he had balled up his hands a bit too tightly. Is this really stressing him out that much? No, he was fine just a few days ago. And it can’t be because of the conversation him and Goro had. That made him feel stressed, but not the sick-to-your stomach anxious stress that he’s feeling. 

“I’m fine. Might need to go get some bandaids, though,” he says nonchalantly. Ann smiles brightly.

“Well, you’re in luck! I brought these sandals with me, but I keep getting these annoying blisters from them, so I bought bandaids, too,” Ann says while digging around in one of her bags, “here you go!” Akira gratefully takes the box of bandaids, and starts sticking a few onto the small, crescent shaped cuts in his hand. He needs to calm down. It’s just like he thought earlier. Whenever him and Goro spend an extended period of time together, bad stuff starts happening. He needs to warn him that something’s probably going to happen tonight. 

“Thanks, Ann,” he says, and hands the box of bandaids back to her. She gives him a strange look, but that’s all. The rest of the walk back to the hotel is quiet, save for Yusuke stopping every so often to take a picture of some flowers. Akira makes a mental note to ask him to see any sketches he makes of them later. Sometimes, he doesn’t feel like he’s doing enough to support his friends, so he’s been trying to check in on them more. 

They finally make it back to their rooms. Akira decides to look out the window for a little bit to try to clear his head before he sleeps tonight. Mishima’s already talking about the Phan-site, and about Okumura, at that. Akira tries to gently remind him that they are on a trip, after all, but he continues talking. Someone starts hammering on the door, however, which distracts Mishima. He goes to open it, and their first guest of the night walks in. Ryuji plops himself down on the foot of one of the beds, and explains why he’s here to a surprised Mishima. After Mishima seems to accept that Ryuji’s staying here tonight, someone else knocks on the door. Ann walks in, and laments about how she got locked out of her room to a sympathetic Ryuji. Mishima’s back to reading the site, however. While the three of them are talking, Akira decides to text Goro again. 

**9:19**

**Joker: feel free to come over whenever**

**Crow: I’ll be there soon, just taking a shower right now.**

**Joker: are you using your phone in the shower or something**

**Crow: Perhaps I am.**

Akira puts his phone away. He doesn’t want to be the one to blame for him dropping his phone in the shower or something. The other three in the room are now coming to the realization that they’re going to figure out some sort of sleeping arrangement. Mishima finds that pack of cards again, and they play. Unexpectedly, they end up with Ann on the other bed, Mishima on the couch, and Ryuji on the floor. Either Goro’s going to end up on the floor too, or he might end up… Okay, maybe Akira’s moving too fast in his head. Akira stares up at the ceiling. He’s waiting for another knock on the door, and after a few minutes, that knock comes. Ann and Ryuji share a strange look, and then Ann’s eyes widen. Akira gets up, and opens the door. 

“Hey,” Goro says, and Akira steps into the hallway. He jams his arm in between the door and the door frame, preventing it from locking on itself. Goro frowns.

“Hey. I know you’re not going to be happy about this, but I’m pretty sure that-”

“Yaldabaoth’s going to try to fuck with us tonight? Yeah, I’ve been feeling off all day, and with what you were texting me earlier, I assume you were too.” 

“Yes.”

“Then my theory about you worrying more about other people when you’re the one who’s the most worried is right.”

“Huh?”

“Let’s just go in and try to get as much sleep as we can, alright?” Goro says, and Akira wrenches his arm back out from between the door.

“After you,” Akira says, and they both walk in. Ryuji’s annoyed face is one of the first things he notices, as well as Ann’s happy expression that’s mixed with a bit of a glare. 

“What’re you doing here?” Ryuji says. Akira flops himself down on the foot of his bed, and surprisingly enough, Goro sits down on the side of the bed, facing the wall.

“Just ignore me,” is all he says. His tone is rather sharp. He’s got to have something on his mind that he isn’t telling Akira. 

“If you say so…” Ryuji says. Ann looks around the room.

“Hey, where did Mishima go?” Ann says.

“He’s been in the bathroom for a pretty long time,” Ryuji says. Oh right, he’s getting sick. Ryuji gets up out of the nest he’s made on the floor, turns the lights off, and sits back down. Hopefully, they’ll just have their normal conversation that they did, which they launch into after Ann mentions how much Shiho was looking forward to this trip. Akira’s watching Goro out of the corner of his eye, and Goro’s hand is clenched quite tightly, squeezing the bed’s comforter. While Ann and Ryuji are distracted, Akira reaches out and gently pats his clenched hand with the hand he accidentally cut earlier. Goro glances at him, but doesn’t make any attempt to move, other than pulling his phone out of his pocket. 

**9:26 pm**

**Crow: What happened to your hand?**

**Joker: i was clenching my fist too hard and i accidentally cut my hand**

**Crow: I see.**

**Crow: It’s fine if I sleep right here, right?**

**Crow: How does one human manage to turn his face so red?**

**Joker: yes its fine and through magic joker powers all things are possible**

**Crow: I see.**

**Crow: Does that include being annoyingly cool when in the Metaverse?**

**Crow: How the fuck are you redder?**

**Joker: mmmmmm this is weird since when did goro akechi compliment me**

**Crow: Is your memory that awful?**

“I don’t wanna know what those two are texting each other,” Ryuji says. Goro puts his phone back in his pocket, and then lays down on his side of the bed. Well, looks like this is it for Akira’s lone brain cell that wasn’t already overwhelmed. His mind is quickly taken off the topic of oh god why is he in the bed with me by Mishima retching and calling for help. Ryuji bangs on the door a few times, and Mishima lets him in. After a few minutes, Mishima and Ryuji emerge. 

“Kurusu, who is- wait. No. No way,” Mishima says. Goro rolls over, and looks at Mishima, who yelps. 

“Is something the matter, Mishima-kun?”

“Uh! N-No! Not at all! I’ll be going to bed, now!” Mishima says, and then promptly faceplants on the couch. Ann looks over at them.

“Akechi, did you do something to him or something?” Ann says. Goro shakes his head.

“Other than existing? No,” Goro says, and rolls back over to face the wall.

“Man, I’m getting sleepy. I’m gonna go to bed now,” Ryuji says. After a chorus of good nights, all of them start trying to fall asleep. Akira closes his eyes.

And opens them what feels like moments later. He’s back in what looks like the Velvet Room, but it’s almost as if the Metaverse has fused with it. Red, snaky tendrils pulse against the walls, and in the center of the room the desk is empty. None of the attendants are to be seen. Akira gets up off his slab. Something drips down his face as he gets up. He gingerly reaches up and feels what seems to be a hole in his head. As he pulls his hand away, he can see his own blood smeared on his fingers. He drops his hand to his side, and walks up to the bars. Across the way, he can see someone’s crumpled form start moving. Could Yaldabaoth really have brought Goro into this dream? At this rate, nothing will surprise Akira. The form gets up. It’s Goro all right, wearing a matching prison uniform. Except for the large blood stain on his chest, that is. Goro meets his eyes, and his whole face hardens.

“What do you want from us?” Goro snarls. It’s been a while since he’s seen Goro truly angry. A vicious chill rushes down Akira’s spine. 

“Don’t you understand the opportunity that you two have? Especially you, pawn of Igor,” a booming voice says, “Don’t you understand that you can remake this world however you wish? You’re going to need my help. Don’t you understand? Or are you just going to prove that all humans need guidance from above? Are you going to be that pathetic?” Akira watches Goro dig his nails into the bars of his jail cell. Akira wants to say something, but his mouth feels like it’s been frozen shut. His hands won’t move from the bars. He tries to shake his arms to pry his hands loose, but all he can do is tremble. Goro takes another look over at him, and sets his jaw.

“What are you doing to him?” Goro says. 

“Don’t mind him. Don’t you want him gone, anyway? Isn’t he such a nuisance?”

“You’re very, very wrong about who I am, or what my motivations are, you bastard,” Goro says, and then immediately freezes where he stands. Akira feels blood return to his numb hands. 

“And you, pawn of Igor, so dedicated to saying humans have free will. And yet, you can use that free will of your own to join me. Defeat him, or you two may even join me together. Humans are worthless bags of desires that don’t know what to do without guidance, after all. Be it from me, or a group of legendary Thieves, or an idol.” Now, it’s Akira’s turn to be angry.

“Humans can make their own decisions.”

“Oh, really now? Aren’t you an optimistic one. I will not extend my final deal just yet. I still have some waning hope, after all.” And with that, the Velvet Room’s bells chime, and Akira is ripped out of sleep. He sits up, and feels Goro’s shoulder bump against his. Looks like he’s awake too. Akira presses into his head with his right hand. Goro copies him with his left hand. They look at each other, almost perfect mirrors. Goro’s still shaking.

“I don’t know what that fucker thinks he can get from us by doing that,” he whispers, “but it feels like the only motivation he’s giving me is the motivation to kill him where he stands.” Suddenly, he pulls himself into Akira’s chest. He’s far too upset with Yaldabaoth right now to really process it, so he wraps his arms around him instead. 

“I promise you, we will,” Akira says quietly, “I’ve done it, and it’ll probably be even more of a piece of cake with you there.” Goro tightens his grip on the back of Akira’s shirt. 

“I told you. I want to be the only one in control of my life. Not Yaldabaoth. Not Maruki. Not,” Goro pauses, and peeks his head out to look around the room, “you know who.”

“I know, I know,” Akira tries to say as soothingly as possible, but he can tell Goro’s just getting angrier and angrier with himself. 

“I’m so goddamn pathetic. He really thinks he can just do whatever the fuck he wants and get  _ away _ with it? I almost lost it seeing you like that! Fuck, why was I so weak back then? Why was I so blind? Why did I listen to his every whim? And look at me now! I’m still listening to what he tells me to! I’m so sorry. I’m so goddamn sorry.” Goro continues to blab apologies. 

“Goro, hey. Listen to me,” Goro quiets down, but doesn’t move a muscle, “we can still fix this. This is a second chance to make it all right.”

“I guess so,” Goro mumbles. 


	54. Chapter 54

Ann wakes up to the sound of someone, no,  _ someones _ , gasping in pain. She just about jumps out of bed to see what’s wrong, but stops herself once she hears whispering. At some point in the night, she had rolled over to face the bed that Akira and Akechi are in. She shuts her eyes as tightly as she can while also still being able to look out of them. Something bad is happening, and she wants to be able to jump in if necessary. 

“-only motivation he’s giving me is to kill him where he stands,” Akechi says, and then Ann watches his shadowed form move to curl up against Akira. They’re both talking fairly quietly, as not to disturb the others, but it’s making it very difficult for Ann to hear what they’re saying. Another shuffling noise from the floor startles Ann. Ryuji’s up now, and he looks over at Ann. Ann tries to shoot him a look as best as she can in the darkness. Luckily, even if Ryuji can’t see her face, he seems to get the message. 

“I’ve done it- probably be even more of a piece of cake with you there,” Akira says. Done what? Ann hears someone sniffle. If it’s Akechi, this is the most ‘out of character’ she’s ever seen him. 

“-I want- only one in control of my life- not Yaldabaoth- not Maruki- not-” Akechi says. Ann can almost see Ryuji’s eyebrows raising through the darkness. Maruki? How does Akechi know who Dr. Maruki is? And Yaldabaoth? Who even is that? Akira’s making soothing noises, but it’s too quiet for Ann to make out what he’s saying. 

“I- pathetic- he just does- and gets  _ away _ with it- lost it seeing you like that- I- weak- blind- why did I listen- I’m still listening- I’m sorry,” Akechi starts repeating various apologies. What happened to him? From the few conversations Ann’s had with Akechi, he’s a fairly no-nonsense, not many emotions kind of guy. And some of the stuff he’s saying is really worrying Ann. “Lost it seeing you like that?” Did he simply have a bad dream? No, Akira seems to know what was going on. 

“-can still fix this. This is a second chance- make- all right,” Akira says. Second chance? What? 

“I guess so,” Akechi says rather clearly, “but still, so much has changed already. And, at this rate, I don’t know what else Yaldabaoth is going to do.” What on earth are they talking about? Changes? Ann must be mishearing things. And there’s that ‘Yaldabaoth’ name again. 

“Well, we’ve got a lot of issues coming up soon,” Akira, what are you saying, “so let’s not let him get the best of us, and enjoy these last couple days, okay?” They must think it’s safe now to talk a bit louder, since no one has obviously woken up.

“It’s hard to not let him get the best of me when he shows me you like that.” 

“That’s what he’s trying to do, Goro. Break you down with your guilt until you finally snap and agree with him. But think about it, I’m alive. You’re alive. And it’s going to stay that way. As the leader of the Thieves, I can promise you that.”

“You’re pulling that card now?”

“I suppose I am. We should sleep.” Ann tries to steady her breath. If she starts moving to text Ryuji too early and accidentally wakes them up, she’s probably going to be in hot water. So she waits. Neither of the boys have moved, as far as she can tell. Akira’s arms are still wrapped around Akechi, and Akechi’s still burrowed into Akira’s chest. After what feels like an agonizing amount of time, Akira’s head drops forward onto Akechi’s. Hopefully, that means that they’re both asleep by now. Ann slowly creeps her hand over to the nightstand, unplugs her phone, and opens the chat app. She can see from the floor that Ryuji’s had the same idea, as his face is illuminated by the dull glow of his phone’s screen. Mishima is still out cold, as far as she can tell. 

**September 10th, 20XX**

**3:12 am**

**Numbskull: wtf was that!!!**

**RedPanther: I’m not sure to be honest**

**RedPanther: How much did you hear?**

**Numbskull: i remember akira saying something about something being a piece of cake**

**Numbskull: nothin earlier than that**

**RedPanther: I see**

**RedPanther: I woke up cause I heard one or both of them make a really scary noise like they were in a lot of pain or something**

**Numbskull: jeez**

**Numbskull: but some of that stuff that both of em were saying was really weird**

**Numbskull: especially that thing akira said about it being a second chance…**

**Numbskull: and that yaldy boat guy**

**Numbskull: yabbadoth**

**Numbskull: the y guy**

**RedPanther: Yaldabaoth, Ryuji.**

**Numbskull: right**

**RedPanther: But you did hear Akechi-kun say that thing about Dr. Maruki right?**

**Numbskull: yeah that was also super weird**

**Numbskull: that whole conversation was super weird in general…**

**Numbskull: do you think we should tell the others?**

**RedPanther: I mean at this point I feel like we have to, cause this doesn’t seem like something Akira and Akechi-kun are handling well on their own**

**RedPanther: Also, you remember that time that Yusuke told us about he found Akira all spacey and then Akira told him that we can’t help him with what he’s dealing with?**

**Numbskull: uhhhh**

**RedPanther: It’s in One Persona Gang**

**Numbskull: aight**

**Numbskull: oh right i see now**

**Numbskull: you think whats going on here is connected to that??**

**RedPanther: It has to be!**

**Numbskull: imma text the group hopefully someones awake**

**One Persona Gang**

**3:22 am**

**Skull: anyone here up**

**Skull: other than ann of course**

**Panther: Helloooo??**

**Fox: Ah, I am awake.**

**Fox: I have been struck by a burst of inspiration ever since I got here.**

**Fox: Is there a specific reason why you’re texting here instead of the main Phantom Thieves group chat?**

**Queen: Or, why are you all texting at all right now? Can’t you see the time?**

**Skull: yeah theres a specific reason**

**Panther: It’s about Akira.**

**Queen: Huh?**

**Queen: Are you two with him now or something?**

**Skull: and akechi too**

**Queen: Is everything okay? Do I need to go over there?**

**Panther: I think the worst of it has passed they’re both back asleep now hopefully**

**Fox: What happened?**

**Skull: apparently they both woke up making some noises of pain which woke up ann**

**Skull: and then the two of them started talking about some real wild stuff**

**Skull: like how akechi wont have anyone controlling his life ever again, and that he almost lost it seeing akira ‘like that’, and that akira said this was their second chance or something**

**Skull: also something about a guy named yaldabaoth and dr maruki**

**Fox: Yaldabaoth as in the Demiurge?**

**Skull: the what**

**Fox: Never mind, just had to do some research into religious figures as a part of an art project I did.**

**Fox: Who is this Dr. Maruki you speak of?**

**Queen: He’s Shujin Academy’s guidance counselor. We got him after the whole incident with Mr. Kamoshida happened.**

**Skull: i mean of course akira could have told him about maruki but how would akechi know him enough to have him be ‘controlling his life’**

**Panther: I think what freaked me out most was the fact that Akira said to him that this was their second chance, and that we have ‘a lot of issues coming up soon.’**

**Oracle: hmmmmm how mad could akira get if i break the deal**

**Fox: This is the second time you’ve mentioned this deal, Futaba.**

**Fox: Also, good evening to you.**

**Oracle: shut it inari**

**Fox: I am wounded.**

**Panther: Futaba do you know something about this whole situation?**

**Oracle: hMMMMMMMMMM did akira happen to say anything about being shot???**

**Skull: uh well he did say something about how hes alive and that akechis alive and that hes gonna make sure to keep it that way**

**Oracle: well**

**Oracle: ill just say this**

**Oracle: inari remember how you overheard sojiro talking to akira about a long haired friend**

**Fox: Yes? What about it?**

**Oracle: that was akechi**

**Queen: Wait. Wait. So does this mean that Akira and Akechi-kun have known each other since the beginning?**

**Queen: No wonder they acted like they knew each other.**

**Panther: I’m so confused.**

**Panther: We should talk more about this later Akechi-kuns moving a bit**

**Skull: oh shit ann i think hes waking up**

**Skull: night!!!!**

**Panther: gn**


	55. Chapter 55

Akechi hasn’t fallen asleep. He did try, but hearing the others move around in the room and the lights coming from their phones have him worried. He hopes they didn’t wake up, didn’t overhear what he and Akira were talking about. His mouth is filled with the sickly taste of bile. He needs to go to the bathroom, plunge himself under the cold shower, go throw up, stay right here with Akira. His mind is jumbled after trying to keep it together while talking to Akira. He desperately needs to focus on right now. Akira’s nose is digging into the top of his head. That’s something Akechi can count on to be real. Akira’s breathing is also the steady breathing of one who is peacefully asleep. That’s another thing Akechi can count on to be real. That version of the Velvet Room, although convincing, is not real. That version of that bloodied Akira was real, at one point, but not anymore. Akechi pulls Akira closer, momentarily, like a small child clutching a pillow. This is also real. He then tries to untangle himself without waking up Akira. He isn’t sure if he was successful with that last bit, but he gets up off of the bed and walks over to the bathroom, carefully stepping over Sakamoto, who may or may not be pretending to sleep. 

In the bathroom, Akechi plants both of his hands firmly on the counter, and takes a good long look at himself. He’s a mess. Dark circles, messed up hair, and bleary red eyes do not make for a pretty picture. He wants to shower, but if the others are actually asleep, it would be rather rude of him to do that. So instead, he cranks the cold handle of the sink, and lets the water run down his hands. After his hands start to go numb, he turns off the sink, and plasters his hands to his face. It’s somewhat refreshing. He wishes he had a glass of cold water to drink, but it doesn’t feel right to take the water bottles from the room, and he doesn’t want to suffer the same fate as Mishima. So this will have to do. After turning off the bathroom lights, he makes his way back over to Akira. Just as he’s about to lay back down, he whispers into the darkness.

“How much did you two hear?” There isn’t a response, but either Sakamoto or Takamaki makes a surprised noise. He can’t tell. But unless that was a very coincidentally timed sound someone made in their sleep, it confirms Akechi’s suspicions that someone must have heard something. And at this point, there isn't anything they can do, depending on how much they heard. Not even lying will work. He shouldn’t have been so goddamn careless. That familiar wave of anger starts crawling up his gut, wrapping around his trachea. He shoves it down, and crawls back onto the bed. Akira’s still sitting up, but is sound asleep. Akechi wants to tuck himself back onto him. It’s strange. Seeking comfort from something, let alone someone, is a fairly foreign concept to Akechi. He isn’t sure if he’s stopping himself out of fear of waking up Akira, or some deep set belief that he isn’t allowed affection. He sighs soundlessly. It was so easy for him to toss himself against Akira earlier in his hysteria. Whatever. He’ll have to get over this shit eventually. He scoots himself into roughly the same position he was in earlier, with his head pressed into Akira’s chest. Either Akira’s not as asleep as Akechi thought he was, or his damn caregiver instincts are so strong that he wraps his arms back around Akechi in his sleep. Akechi really does hate him sometimes. And yet, he’s comfortable.

He’s not going to go to sleep, though. He still wants to see if Takamaki or Sakamoto start texting or talking to each other. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t hard not to fall asleep. Akira’s warm, and the pressing post-Yaldabastard exhaustion entices him to sleep. Not yet. His mind starts to wander as he waits. He wonders where exactly do all his bottled up feelings go. Is he going to have another breakdown, like he did on that ship? Probably not. He isn’t angry with Akira anymore. Angry isn’t the right word. Envious. He was envious of him. But Akira just didn’t know when to quit. Akira wished him alive again, Akira kept his glove, Akira remembered him. Akechi doesn’t understand what he sees in him, but it must be something worthwhile. He should ask him if he still has that glove, anyway. Akechi’s jerked out of his thoughts, suddenly. 

“You think he’s asleep?” Sakamoto says. Akechi immediately starts evening out his breathing. It’s going to make him even more tired, but he doesn’t want to raise any more suspicion.

“I mean, did you hear what he said? He already seems to know that we heard him,” Takamaki says. And there’s his actual confirmation.

“Eh, I guess. You think Mishima’ll sleep through us talking?”

“Unless he’s pretending to sleep, he slept through Akechi-kun moving around and turning the lights on and stuff, so probably?” Akira’s another story, however, as Akechi can tell he’s starting to wake up. Hopefully he realizes what’s going on, and pretends to continue sleeping. Akira doesn’t seem to make any major moves, other than wrapping around Akechi even more tightly. He probably thinks Akechi’s still asleep. 

“I hope so,” Sakamoto says, “if we’re already this confused about what those two were saying, imagine being Mishima and hearing that.” Takamaki laughs a little. 

“Shit,” Akira says under his breath. Okay, Akira is definitely awake now. Akechi’s facing the wall again, so he feels safe moving his hand to poke Akira a couple of times. Akira taps him back in acknowledgement. 

“Goddamn it. Ann, why doesn’t Akira just talk to us? We’re the oldest Thieves other than Morgana, and I wouldn’t turn my back on him. I don’t think you would, either, right? 

“Of course not! But… I wonder. I don’t think he’s afraid of us just packing up and leaving, you know? It’s probably more that he thinks we won’t understand or something, right?” 

“Might be? I don’t know…” Sakamoto says, and neither of them have anything more to say. With that, Akechi deems it okay to sleep, and he finally relaxes. 

It’s rather bright in the room once Akechi wakes up. He’s still on Akira, who’s idly scrolling through his phone. It seems like everyone else has left, however. 

“Rough night, eh?” Akira says once he notices that Akechi’s awake, 

“You’re underestimating things, Akira.”

“I know, I know. So, I guess they heard our conversation last night,” Akira says, “Not sure if they’re going to do anything about it just yet.”

“I hope not. Don’t want to have to explain all the past bullshit when that past bullshit is the present bullshit.”

“Yeah. Well, we’ve got what, one more day here?”


	56. Chapter 56

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any mainline players here: Do you think the demon summoning program would work on Demi-Fiend?

Akira drums his fingers absently on the plane’s tray table. The mood here in this section of the plane is tense, even when it’s broken up by Mishima blabbing about the Phantom Thieves. It’s been tense ever since that night, anyway. He hung out with Mishima and Ryuji for a while yesterday, and while Mishima had seemed none the wiser, Ryuji kept giving him odd looks. Considering the looks the other Thieves were giving him, Ann and Ryuji definitely told them, too. Goro also seemed to be out of it yesterday. Akira’s certain that he’s trying to hide just how much Yaldabaoth’s actions are affecting him, but isn’t doing a very good job. Akira had woken up when Goro went to the bathroom, and wasn’t too surprised when he came back with a cold, wet face. Considering they both knew full well what was wrong, Akira figured that it would be tasteless to ask him if he was feeling okay. Goro would probably tell him not to waste his breath on it, anyway. They seemed to have a nice time hanging out in the evening, though. Sumire jumping him in the gift shop was also a welcome distraction from the gloom hanging over the Thieves. At least she’s none the wiser. 

He’s pretty sure that if Kobayakawa hasn’t already passed away, it’s happening very soon. This whole thing pisses Akira off. There’s probably some elaborate plan that him and Goro could have devised to prevent his demise. Goro could have simply changed his heart, but then that could have led to too many Shido-related problems. They could have figured out some way to have him go into hiding, but they’re just high schoolers, after all. They don’t have the resources or power to do that. Plus, there’s Okumura’s Palace coming up. It’s more death and despair that Akira desperately wishes he could prevent. And now, the Thieves know something bad is going to happen. They don’t know what, but because of Akira’s little slip, they know there’s something. Hopefully, they think it’s just going to be Kobayakawa’s passing, and Morgana’s withdrawal from the group. Hopefully, they’ll just forget that conversation ever happened. Hopefully, Futaba won’t tell them about what she heard that night. Akira wants to go talk to Goro again, but he had said that he wants to catch up on the sleep he missed because of ‘Yaldabastard,’ as he had called him. Akira had laughed at that. Goro had shot him a dirty look, but he had that self-satisfied smile on his face. Akira’s going to respect his wishes. There’s also the issue of sneaking past Ryuji and Mishima again. He wants to avoid the topic of Goro around them as much as he possibly can. 

Finally, they all make it off the plane, and Akira returns home. Sojiro and Futaba greet him warmly, even though the suspicious look on Futaba’s face doesn’t bring him much comfort. Morgana’s another story, as he immediately tells Akira that the current situation is getting a bit more complicated. Right on cue, the news in the background segues into talking about Phantom Thief merchandise. Akira wonders just how much they’d be making in royalties if they revealed their identities. Probably quite a lot. 

“Our special guest tomorrow will be having a conversation about how he considers this phenomenon. After taking his personal vacation, everyone’s favorite high school detective, Goro Akechi, will once again be here! Tune in at 5:30 pm tomorrow!” A bubbly newscaster says. They really don’t let him have any breaks now, do they?

“He’s my most hated…” Futaba says under her breath. Akira’s not going to disrespect her past or feelings by policing how she feels about Goro. She has every right to hate him. Sojiro goes to use the bathroom, and Futaba takes it as her chance to tell Akira that she’s finished analyzing Sae’s laptop. Akira tries to stave off the tiredness, but he feels himself nodding off, and they decide to save that for another day. Morgana tries talking to him once they’re up in the attic, but stops himself after noticing Akira’s close to falling asleep right here. He’s about to settle in when his phone starts blowing up. Morgana sits behind him to read his phone, as it’s the Phantom Thieves chat. 

**Spooky Scary Phantom Thieves**

**7:47 pm**

**Oracle: hello friendaroos**

**Oracle: a guy with messy hair and glasses came here yesterday**

**Oracle: NOT akira he was an adult**

**Panther: Who?**

“Maruki did come here yesterday,” Morgana says. His voice is quiet and sad. Akira knows he’s going through a bit of an identity crisis, but just like Goro, he’ll never tell him just how much it’s affecting him. Akira really doesn’t want to be the one to mention Maruki’s name. It might open that can of worms back up. 

**Queen: Was his name Dr. Maruki? He’s the counselor at our school.**

**Oracle: mightve been he did say he was studying cognitive psience**

**Skull: wait wait wait huh????**

**Panther: Cognitive psience…**

**Oracle: he did seem pretty interested in it but not for any nefarious reasons or anything**

**Oracle: doubt that hes associated with whoevers bossing akechi around**

**Skull: why would akechi say what he did about maruki though**

**Skull: wait**

**Skull: shit**

**Skull: uhhhh i didnt say anything nope i did not nope**

“What did Akechi say about Maruki?” Morgana says. Akira feels his blood run cold. He can’t deal with this right now. 

“Can’t remember. Too tired,” he says, adding a yawn for extra effect.

“I guess that’s understandable,” Morgana says. Akira turns his phone off. He’s too tired right now to deal with this. Tomorrow’s just the beginning of the end. 

“He really freaking did it…” Akira hears Ryuji mumble over the commotion of the crowd at the morning assembly. Mutters about the Phantom Thieves taking him out ripple through the crowd. Some are in support of it. Akira really should have noticed how unsettling this is last time, with the Phantom Thieves fervor artificially growing so quickly that some of the public is in favor of them just taking people out. If, at this point, it were revealed that the Thieves were the guilty party in the mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns, would the public celebrate? Yaldabaoth had shown him a future like that. It made him feel sick. 

Back at Leblanc’s attic, Akira’s already steeling himself for the upcoming fight. He’d almost prefer it if he didn’t know what was coming. The conversation starts off easily enough, talking about Kobayakawa’s death, and how the general public hasn’t started thinking that it was caused by the Thieves. Ryuji adds a ‘yet,’ to that sentence, in some sort of twisted, unknowing foresight. The Thieves continue talking, with brief disagreements breaking out every so often. Akira feels very awkward just standing here, but there’s truthfully not much he can do. Morgana redirects the conversation back to Futaba’s research. 

“Inari, get over here and tell them,” Futaba says. Yusuke gets up off of Akira’s bed, and goes over to read off what she’s written.

“Well, first off, it looks like Prosecutor Niijima is looking into the mental shutdown cases as expected. There’s some speculation, but it seems as if the beneficiary of most of the events was the corporation Okumura Foods, most specifically, its CEO.” 

“Wait, do you think this CEO could be the one Akechi-kun’s working for? Yusuke, who is it?” Makoto says. 

“Wait, Okumura? Where have I heard that before?” Ryuji says. 

“I’ll answer both of your questions. Kunikazu Okumura is the CEO of Okumura Foods, most prominently known for Big Bang Burger. And it might be, considering how many of their opponents and corporate rivals have had sudden changes in disposition or collapsed,” Yusuke says. Akira breathes a private sigh of relief. Thank god Goro’s good enough at muddying details that Shido or the Conspiracy didn’t get brought up. They can’t deal with Shido right now. Maybe if they trained and trained, and got Sumire on their side, but still. The calling card probably wouldn’t have worked last time without Akira’s grand reappearance from the dead. 

“Oh, and this Okumura guy definitely has a Palace!” Futaba says. This jump starts that argument again of whether or not they should take on Okumura’s Palace. Maybe if Akira hadn’t stayed quiet last time, Morgana might not have run off. But he has no choice other than to just stay quiet. He can’t let too much slip. Morgana starts getting after Ryuji for calling him useless, and calls the Thieves ‘indecisive.’ Akira disagrees, personally, as with the strange amount of hype around the Thieves he’d want to exercise caution. Morgana turns to address the group with a huff. 

“I’ll be the one getting the credit here, not you lot who can’t even agree on anything and keep hiding stuff from each other! I’ll show you who’s really useless!” Morgana says, jumps off the table, and disappears. 

“Wait, Morgana!” Ann calls out, but he’s gone. The rest of the group looks back and forth at each other. Morgana’s comment freaks him out. He wants to tell the truth, he really does, but he has no idea what sort of consequences that would hold. 

“He’ll come back with his tail between his legs in no time,” Ryuji grumbles. Makoto sighs. 

“Let’s think about this some more, okay? Morgana’s hopefully going to come back soon,” she says. Everyone seems to agree to that, and gets up to leave. Eventually, Futaba’s the only one that’s left. She turns to Akira. 

“So, what is it that’s going on between you and Akechi-kun? Is it a time loop or something? Or can you two see the future? Or?” She keeps theorizing. Akira bites his tongue. Of course she’d be the one to figure it out. She’s definitely one of the more imaginative Thieves. Considering she found them out so early on, he’s surprised she’s waited until now to ask. And if he doesn’t answer truthfully, she’ll just keep on investigating. 

“Something like that,” is all Akira says. Her eyes grow wide.

“HUH? I didn’t expect you’d say it outright like that! Wait, are you not telling us cause you’re afraid of changing the future or something?” Futaba says. Akira nods slowly.

“I see,” she says, “then this conversation never happened.” She waves goodbye, and Akira waves back. With his room completely vacated, he sits down on his bed, and tries to process what just happened. His phone’s already in hand, and without even thinking, Akira calls Goro.

“What do you want? You never call me like this,” Goro’s voice drawls from the other side of the phone.

“Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize to me before even telling me what happened.”

“Well, Futaba’s figured us out. The whole ‘us knowing the past thing.’”

“I’m not surprised. She’s annoyingly sharp.”

“Me either. Also, Morgana ran off, so now we have to wait until we can go into Okumura’s Palace and find him.”

“Hopefully I won’t run into you guys in Mementos again.”

“What? When did that happen?”

“When you were all staking out Mementos, I came in there last time for god knows what, and when I was coming out I realized that you were all there.”  
“Interesting.”

“Indeed. I spoke with Sae-san earlier today, after doing my appearance on TV.”

“How was it?”

“TV was shit, like always. Sae-san’s been getting frustrated with the whole Thieves thing, and thinks you’re working with Okumura.” Akira laughs, getting him a sarcastic  _ what now _ from the other end of the phone.

“Well, the Thieves think you’re the one working with Okumura.” 

“Oh really now?”

“Yup,” Akira has a bit of a strange thought pop in his head, “hey, could you do me a favor?”

“What is it?”

“When we eventually stake out Mementos, can you be there again as back up? Also, just to make sure things stay the same.”

“I see. Of course. But if I do have to show myself, do you really want Okumura-san to know who I am? As the Black Mask, I mean.”

“We won’t be able to hide it forever. Plus, they haven’t seen your prince costume.”

“Okay, see you then.” 


	57. Chapter 57

Akechi’s standing idly inside Mementos. There’s no way he’s going down any farther than Qimranut, even with how horribly small and boring this area is. No Shadows dare go near him. They know just how strong he is. He does have to move around every so often, however, much to his annoyance. If it weren’t for that damn Reaper, he could probably just sit down and take a nap or something. Akira probably never had to deal with learning about the Reaper’s wrath the hard way. Lucky him, but at least Akechi’s got a healthy fear of encountering the Reaper solo. It shouldn’t be too much of a concern, however, as he had sensed both the Morgana Car and another group, presumably the Thieves, entering Mementos. Morgana and Okumura, as Akira had told him about, continue to drive around. Akechi hasn’t pried into exactly what happened between Morgana and the rest of the Thieves, and he feels absolutely no need to. Nor does he feel a need to ask why Morgana and Okumura are in cahoots with each other. It’s just an odd combo. 

Walking around like this gives him ample time to stew over the few events that’ve happened over the past few days. First off, more TV appearances, every single one of them completely scripted. Shido’s little media monkeys have gotten rather insistent on him portraying the role of the wunderkind, anti-Thief Detective Prince. Oh, how far away from the truth that is. Secondly, it’s not just the idiots that Shido surrounds himself with, as Shido’s gotten a lot more bitchy recently too. Every time he’s not in the Metaverse, he’s getting sent a barrage of insistent texts, with Shido’s tone shifting wildly between each and every one of him. Bless Akechi’s mother for giving him enough emotional regulation to hide all the aggression he’s gotten from Shido’s genetics. Okay, it might have been too much emotional regulation, considering he ended up developing a whole new Persona and Metaverse outfit just for the lying part of him. Speaking of his Prince outfit, he’s noticed that it’s become increasingly difficult to switch into it. Whatever. It’s not like he needs it anymore, anyway. He’s been unmasked. At least the last few days have had the bright spot of Akira calling him fairly often. He might just be calling to take his mind off of Morgana’s disappearance, but with what happened on the Hawaii trip, Akechi can’t be so certain and self defeating about anything anymore. 

He’s so bored. One can only think about their problems for so long, after all. But there just isn’t anything else here to do. He could always go up to the entrance and bug Akira, but that probably wouldn’t go over too well with the rest of the Thieves. Maybe he should take a break. He finds a wall, and slumps against it. It’s disturbing how warm the walls and floor are compared to the freezing cold air. This whole place is disturbing. At least the Palaces are clear cut in how they’re representing their owner’s psyche. Here? It’s just a distorted mass of humanity. 

The revving of a motor jerks Akechi out of his thoughts, and he’s on his feet before he knows it. Fuck. He needs to hide. Now. Unless he wants to explain-

“Stop right there! Who are you?” A girl’s voice says. Shit. Akechi turns around slowly. He’s got his sword in his hand, which is probably a bad look. Okumura has her grenade launcher trained at his face, and Akechi feels his blood run cold. At least it’s not a handgun. He moves to put his sword back on his belt, and puts his hands up in the air. 

“Crow? What are you doing here?” Morgana says. 

“I could ask the same of you,” Akechi says, working some of his faux friendliness into his voice, “Now why don’t we put our weapons down?” His arms are starting to hurt. Okumura looks over at Morgana, who nods deftly. The grenade launcher goes down to her side, and Akechi breathes a sigh of relief. 

“Are you a Phantom Thief?” Okumura asks. Akechi thinks about this for a moment. 

“No.” It’s the truth. He never considered himself part of them, anyway. Only when it was him and Akira, and that brief stint with them and Sumire did he truly feel in any way shape or form a Phantom Thief. He just didn’t relate to any of the other Thieves. Well, nowadays him and Takamaki seem to get along okay. But he’s not a part of the Thieves right now. 

“Oh! I’m so sorry! I just thought since Mona knew you… Um, anyway, do you want to help us?” Okumura says. She’s too damn nice for her own good. Morgana shoots her a look, but it quickly fades. 

“Sorry, I only willingly cooperate with Joker,” Akechi says. Both Okumura and Morgana have confused faces, Morgana less so. 

“But doesn’t that make you a part of the Thieves? And what do you mean ‘willingly?’” Okumura says.

“I said Joker, not the Phantom Thieves. And that isn’t for you to know,” he bites his tongue to stop himself from saying  _ yet _ . Futaba may know, but the rest hopefully don’t. Okumura’s grenade launcher shoots back up, and so do Akechi’s hands. He quickly checks what persona he has equipped. Arahabaki. Hopefully she doesn’t try shooting. Akechi doesn’t want to explain why he can suddenly repel bullets, and he doesn’t want to repel her own shot back at her. 

“Why won’t you tell me?” Her voice is strong, but it's fake strength, like a child trying to stand up to a bully. Akechi slides his eyes over onto Morgana.

“I see you forgot to tell her who I am. Forget it, we’ll have this conversation later. I was going to go train.” Akechi walks away. Behind him, he can hear both of them say “hey!” But, they make no attempt to follow. Good. Eventually, they leave the floor, and after a long while, he stops sensing anyone else in Mementos. The Velvet Room door is there once he makes it to the exit, fully confirming that everyone’s out. He takes a deep breath, and recomposes himself. He’s still in his normal clothes, after all. Tokyo’s Prince can’t be having a scandal now. He checks his phone. More nagging texts from Shido about god knows what. He’s obviously drunk. And, a few texts from Akira. 

**September 17, 20XX**

**6:28 pm**

**Joker: hey**

**Joker: im guessing youre still in mementos**

**Joker: but were probably all going to be at leblanc by the time you read this**

**Joker: were on the train now**

**Joker: but i heard from morgana that they ran into you and i wouldnt be too surprised if haru asks about you**

**Joker: just a heads up**

**7:14 pm**

**Crow: Understood.**

**Crow: We did not have the most ‘friendly’ of interactions, to say the least.**

**Joker: what happened**

**Crow: Well, she pulled the grenade launcher on me first.**

**Joker: 0-0 dont tell me you two fought**

**Crow: We didn’t. She just asked me if I was one of the Phantom Thieves.**

**Crow: I also wouldn’t be surprised if she asks who I am because I name dropped you specifically while also saying that I wasn’t a Phantom Thief.**

**Joker: i see**

**Crow: And I am not going to shoot another Phantom Thief any time soon.**

**Joker: yeah**

**Joker: can i ask a favor of you**

**Crow: What, you think I’m in any position to say no?**

**Joker: its not a big thing by any means or anything its just out of the way**

**Crow: Hit me with it already.**

**Joker: before we start the palace investigation for real can we go to meiji**

**Crow: I didn’t take you as the type to go to shrines.**

**Crow: But very well, just tell me when.**

Akira stops texting. It’s good timing on his part, as Shido starts calling him. Akechi lets it ring out for a few seconds. It’s both to prepare himself for what’s on the other end, as well as piss him off. 

“Yes?” Akechi says simply. 

“Where the fuck have you been, you goddamn useless-”

“In the Metaverse, sir.”  
“Don’t patronize me, you little shithead brat!” The call suddenly disconnects. Well, at least that’s over with. Akechi might as well go home. 

A couple days later, Akira calls him to come over to the shrine. It’s almost totally empty, to Akechi’s surprise. Usually, there’s at least a few large crowds of tourists scattered about. It makes it easier to appreciate the nature, though, as it’s a bit of a long walk. Akira had told him that he’d meet him directly at the shrine, and since he hasn’t crossed paths with him yet, Akechi’s either late or early. So he waits. 

“Glad you could come,” Akira says from behind him. How did he manage to sneak up on him like that? 

“What did you want to do here?” Akechi asks. Akira sighs.

“I know it’s kind of dumb, but I’ve been freaking out about this whole Okumura thing. I haven’t really ever prayed or anything, but I’ve heard it helps some people to relax.” Akechi nods, and they both walk up to the box in silence. Akechi’s freaking out too, but he’s not sure about what. It might be about possibly having to kill Okumura again, but he’s not sure. It just feels more like a deep seated worry, than anything. Akechi bows, claps twice, and then thinks.

_ Please let things go the way Akira wants them to. _

He claps again, and then they leave. Hopefully, his prayers aren’t heard by one particular god. 


	58. Chapter 58

Akira takes in a deep breath of the sterile, stinging air. Okumura’s Palace smells of cleaning fluid and motor oil. He doesn’t know if the cleaning fluid is meant to be trying to cover up the burning stench, but it might as well be with how much is in the air. Like all the other Palaces, there’s an overwhelming sense of wrongness, but it’s especially strong in here. It might be the faked cleanliness, or it might be how the robot workers die around them. Kaneshiro’s Palace had something similar with the ATMs, but that Palace didn’t feel as uncomfortable as this one does. It might be because the Thieves were never intended to change his heart. This whole place feels like a farce now, knowing that Okumura’s death is imminent. 

The rest of the Thieves don’t know that, at least. He feels really bad for Haru, who hasn’t even summoned her Persona yet at this point. If there was any way around Okumura’s death without putting the rest of the Thieves or Goro in immediate danger, Akira would have taken it. But instead, he has to lead them through this Palace. He almost wants to just stop, make a fake calling card, and let Goro take care of things. That would likely catastrophically fail, and then, they wouldn’t have Haru on their side. Haru had found her place with the Thieves, after all, and Akira doesn’t doubt that her life would probably suck if she gets stuck with that Sugimura bastard. So, he gathers the Thieves, and they all walk to the elevator into the Palace. As expected, they’re able to get past the biometric lock with ease, and they walk into the next hallway with ease. Ryuji tries to strike up a conversation regarding the “Beauty Thief” thing Haru was doing when they first met her. After Haru talks about her life a little bit, she’s rather rudely interrupted by Shadow Okumura. Akira doesn’t know what it is about Palace rulers and being shades of blue and purple, but it’s kind of weird. Cognitive Sugimura’s here too, and he turns into his giant robot form. Everyone’s hands shoot for their weapons, including Akira’s, just in case, but Futaba tells them to stand down. Milady bursts out from behind Haru, just on time.

“Farewell, dear father. I am no longer your subservient puppet!” Haru shouts. If he manages to get Goro on their team in Shido’s Palace, Akira can see him saying something similar. However, instead of ‘dear father,’ it’d probably be more along the lines of ‘bastard of a man who just happened to reproduce.’ Yeah, Akira can see him saying that. If Goro’s in the ventilation ducts watching this, he might be thinking similar thoughts. Akira’s not sure whether or not Goro’s following them around in here, anyway. He’ll ask him once they get out. But he should stop thinking about that now. Haru needs to show her battle prowess. Akira had forgotten just how strong she is, at least in this Palace. He didn’t have her on the main frontline squad in the later Palaces last time, and he kind of regrets it now. However, he did switch her in whenever it was necessary. Sugimura collapses almost as soon as the battle starts, and with Okumura disappearing off to god knows where, they move on. 

Akira really doesn’t like this place. Kamoshida’s Palace may have made him feel violated, but at least they were changing Kamoshida’s heart for a good reason. The rest of the Palaces made him feel various shades of discomfort: with Madarame’s excessive vanity, Kaneshiro’s gluttony, and the wrath of Futaba’s mother, but he was changing their hearts for good reason. Here? It’s to send a man to his death. And last time, they didn’t even pick him as their next target for a noble reason. Well, they did decide to pick him after they found out Haru was in trouble, but they still initially picked him because of his popularity on the Phan-site. They really did need a wake-up call. 

The Palace is the same. Akira can vaguely remember which robots he needs to talk to, which makes that whole section go by a whole lot more quickly. The airlock puzzle proves to be a bit of a headache. It’s not as bad as when he tried to get that last Will Seed in Maruki’s Palace, but it takes him a few tries and a few sympathetic looks from the team before he figures out and remembers what the hell he’s supposed to be doing. He wonders sometimes why they don’t try to give him any hints. Is it that entertaining to watch him run around in circles? Or do they just trust his judgement a little too much? Akira isn’t going to ask. They finally make it through the airlock puzzles after what feels like a solid thirty minutes, and they’re into the main factory area. Just before they’re about to go into the Safe Room, Akira opens a nearby chest. After taking out what’s inside, Akira, with practiced precision, secretly takes out one of the thermoses of coffee he carries around out of that storage space of his, and plunks it down next to the opened chest.

Unsurprisingly, the coffee is gone once they leave the Safe Room. Akira tries to look around as inconspicuously as possible, but Goro’s already disappeared somewhere. Unless, his theory is wrong and Goro isn’t actually here. But what Shadow would bother with a random thermos in an isolated spot? Akira grins to himself.  _ I know you better than you think, Goro, _ he thinks. If Goro were here right now, he’d probably groan, and tell him he’s being snarky again. There he goes again, getting his head stuck in the clouds when he should be worried about not getting smashed to bits in these compactor things. He wills himself to focus, and the timed area’s over before he knows it. They walk into Okumura’s treasure room, and with that, they’re ready to go home. They all reappear back in reality, and after a brief chat, they all split up and go their separate ways. Akira hangs around for a little bit, and so does Futaba.

“Something you’re waiting on?” Futaba asks him after they stand there for a couple of minutes. 

“More like someone.” Right on cue, Goro materializes into the plaza. His gait is that unusually casual one, and he’s looking around just a bit too much. Akira hides himself behind the sign wall thing, and Futaba follows. She immediately picked up on what Akira’s trying to do. However, Morgana seems a little confused, and keeps asking about Goro. 

“You know, Joker dear,” Goro’s voice says from the other side of the wall, “It’s not like I can’t hear cats, you know.” 

“Especially when they’re talking about pancakes,” Akira jabs back. Goro walks around the wall to where Akira and Futaba are, and flips off Akira. 

“You’re still on about that? I was going to thank you for the coffee, but I guess not anymore.” 

“What’s this about coffee?” Morgana says.

“Akira left one of those coffee cups he carries around with him in the Metaverse, and it seems like Akechi here picked it up,” Futaba says to Morgana. 

“Did you see me?” Goro asks.

“I just had a hunch,” is all Akira says. Goro makes an annoyed face, but it’s good natured. 

“We should probably get moving, soon,” Goro says, “after all, we’re quite the suspicious group, are we not?” Futaba nods stiffly, and they start walking to the station. Goro walks behind Akira, clearly keeping his distance from Futaba. He’s got something on his mind again. 

“Goro?” Akira says. He won’t be able to not be overheard, with Morgana on his shoulder. 

“Yeah?”

“You want to stay the night or something?” Akira asks, and Goro looks visibly relieved. Futaba sighs. 

“Mental note: remember to turn off Leblanc surveillance and take Mona,” she says pointedly. Akira and Goro ignore that comment, and the train ride back to Yongen is pleasant enough. Morgana hightails it out of Akira’s bag as soon as they make it to Leblanc, and follows Futaba down the street. Akira pulls the door open for Goro. 

“Ever the gentleman,” Goro says quietly. Sojiro’s still there, unsurprisingly. Akira quickly waves to him, and follows Goro upstairs. 

“-least he won’t be getting anyone knocked up,” Sojiro says, just loud enough for Akira to hear. A few moments later, he hears the jangle of the door swinging open and closed. Well, if Goro wants to talk, they can do it in privacy now. However, Akira’s not even sure if Goro wants to talk, as he’s flopped himself on the couch. 

“Are you tired?” Akira asks.

“Of course?”

“Is it just from the Metaverse?”

“No. Shido’s been a bitch and a half to deal with recently, and I just want to get all this shit over with already.”

“Me too. Not the Shido part, but all this is tiring. If it’s of any worth to you, I was thinking of sending the calling card in the next couple of-”

“Can you send it tomorrow?”

“You’re sure?”

“Positive. Now where do you keep your blankets?”

“In that box over there. You sure you don’t need anything from your apartment?”

“I hate it there. I’d rather spend my time here and get mentally assaulted by that bastard than stew in that place for any longer than absolutely necessary.”


	59. Chapter 59

Akechi sits on the couch, wrapped up in the thin blanket that Akira had given him, mindlessly scrolling through his phone. It’s past midnight at this point, yet he doesn’t feel tired in the slightest. It’s not unusual for him to stay up this late. But, usually after he goes to the Metaverse, he’s just about ready to pass out. Maybe it’s because he’s here? No, it can’t be. If he’s truly so afraid of falling asleep here because of one little god of control, then he’s pathetic. Akira seems to be sleeping just fine. So why can’t he stop reading his phone, and just go the fuck to sleep already? Out of some strange, deep-seated curiosity, he finds himself on the Phan-site. He’s never on here outside of just basic surveillance for work, so what made him come here now? He flicks to the top of the leader board.  _ Okumura Kunikazu. _ Of course it is. He stops thinking, and throws his phone off the side of the couch. Old habits die hard, even when he forgets he’s not in his carpeted bedroom. The phone bounces off of the hardwood floor, and skitters off under one of the shelves. Great. Akechi just can’t leave it like that, so he gets up, and starts scrounging around under the shelf. His search is aided by his phone suddenly ringing. If it’s Shido again, Akechi doesn’t even want to answer. But if he doesn’t, he’s going to keep on calling until his drunk self finally gives up. Drunk Shido is very persistent. Fuck, hopefully Akira doesn’t wake up. Akechi finds the phone, sees that it’s Shido, and answers. 

“Akechi, why haven’t you done anything yet? Haven’t you heard anything about when the Thieves are making their next move?” Akechi starts pacing around, but stays silent, “Haven’t you realized what this situation is putting me in? You better figure out what the fuck you’re supposed to be doing soon. I can’t, can’t be having this all go wrong now because of some Thieves. Are you even listening to me?” Shido almost screams that last line. 

“I am,” Akechi says, and out of the corner of his eye he sees Akira moving. Shit.

“Waste of my fucking time,” Shido says, and the call drops. The piece of shit was the one who called him in the first place, and now Akira’s awake because of it. 

“Goro, I’ve been up for a while, it’s fine,” Akira says, and Akechi nearly jumps out of his skin.

“Can you stop with your weird mind reading shit?” Akechi says, and Akira sits up. 

“Oh, you’re in a bad mood,” Akira mutters, and then his voice returns to its normal volume, “I can’t read minds, Goro. I’m just making a guess. Was that Shido on the phone?” 

“Yeah, of course it was. Who else calls me at,” Akechi looks at the time, “one in the morning?” 

“I don’t know who calls you other than him,” Akira says, and then pulls himself into a much more relaxed looking position.

“I mean, Sae-san sometimes calls me, but- Akira, why do you look so fucking concerned now?” Akira’s face is twisted up into a mix of concern, and what has to be worry. 

“Can you just come over here?” Akira says. Akechi’s confused, but he walks over anyway. As soon as he gets close, Akira reaches out, and yanks Akechi’s arm forward. Akechi stumbles, but he gets the message. He sits down next to Akira, who immediately pulls him closer.

“What’s this for?” Akechi says. Akira takes a moment to respond. 

“I… I don’t know. You kind of seemed to have slept better when I did this on the trip..” Akira says. He’s not wrong, but still. Akechi’s almost certain he’s doing his “worry about other people to shove aside his own worries” right about now. If so, he’s definitely worrying big time about something. Akechi wants to ask, but right now he isn’t sure how he’d get it across without sounding bitchy or too fake. Whatever. He needs to get to sleep. And he does sleep. He sleeps a perfectly dreamless sleep. 

The next day, nothing of note happens on Akechi’s end. Akira tells him that they gave the calling card to Okumura-san to give to Okumura, but he obviously hasn’t noticed it yet. Akechi honestly wonders how obtuse everyone is. Planting the calling card in Kobayakawa’s office actually made sense, as a school has enough people in it going in and out of there that anyone could have done it. But placing it on someone’s home office’s desk? Akechi supposes that it gives an air of mystery or some bullshit, but it makes it very easy to figure out just who did it. Especially when that person is as paranoid as Kunikazu Okumura. It would be bad if Okumura-san got caught. 

The day after that, Akechi’s standing in his bathroom when his phone starts blowing up again. Great. That must mean that Okumura’s called Shido, and given the calling card to the police. At least he won’t have to go to school today, but going to school is preferable to hiding in a Palace with 100% security level. Not much he can do now, other than hope that all goes as planned. He makes his way over to the Palace entrance, and disappears into the cognitive world. Caroline and Justine are waiting for him, surprisingly. 

“So, Inmate. You haven’t completed the tasks we’ve asked of you yet,” Justine says. 

“You do know that time is running out, right?” Caroline says. Time is running out? Do they mean the time until they fuse back into Lavenza? How would they know that?

“I’ve been busy, if you haven’t noticed,” Akechi says. He’s still in a bad mood from dealing with Shido. 

“Our master isn’t pleased about how much time you spend with the other inmate,” Justine says. Of course he isn't. Akechi hopes that every time he sees him and Akira together that he’s reminded about how stupid he is for placing all his hopes in Akechi. 

“I’m well aware,” Akechi says in an even tone, and after Caroline shoots him a look of displeasure, the twins return to their spot next to the door. Akechi walks away, and takes the elevator into the Palace. He might as well run through a good part of it, since he has the time. He has plenty of healing supplies now, too. Akira had told him about the woman that they got all their medicine from a while back, and Akechi had started going to see her recently as well. It’s a bit strange that a doctor is the one representing the Death arcana, but if Akechi can represent Justice, then anything can happen. 

After hours of slashing shadows up, Akechi’s starting to get bored. He ducks into a safe room to take a breather, and does that weird fast travel thing to the safe room nearby the treasure. Even after last time, Akechi’s still not sure how jumping from safe room to safe room works. He just chalks it up to more cognitive bullshit. Leaving the room, he keeps close to the wall and tries to find the crawl spaces he used last time. Shadow Okumura isn’t in the room, but he might as well be with how high the security level is. It feels like something’s pressing its whole weight onto Akechi’s back. Akechi finds the air vent, and makes his way into the main control room. He finds his place to perch, and now he just has to wait. 

Even with the security level maxed out, he feels a spike in the pressure of the air around him. That must mean the Thieves have finally shown up. Akechi preemptively pulls his gun out, just in case things go south, but he’s here to spectate first and foremost. After a few minutes, the Thieves come barging in, and Okumura jumps. He suddenly falls to the floor in mock fear, loudly declaring that his heart has been changed. All a trick of course, as once Okumura-san walks up to Okumura, a light prison surrounds the rest of the Thieves. After a loud argument between Okumura-san and Okumura, Morgana starts giving some sort of friendship speech. The light prison falls after Morgana busts out his slingshot and hits the button in his hand, and the fight begins.

Akira looks like he’s visibly annoyed, but with the mask and the distance, Akechi isn’t quite sure. He keeps rapidly switching between Personas, baton passing, and swapping out the Thieves. Akechi almost wants to jump in there himself and help out, get it over with faster, but he can’t. He just has to watch Akira take down hordes of robots. How pathetic of Okumura to not fight his own battles. Eventually, all of them go down, and Cognitive Okumura-san comes out. Akira switches back to Satanael, and after a Megidolaon and some hits from the Thieves, Okumura is all alone. Okumura-san pulls her grenade launcher on him, and the fight ends. Okumura falls out of his chair, and sprawls out on the floor. He pulls himself onto his knees, and begins saying something. Akechi can’t make anything out, until his voice suddenly raises.

“Haru. Haru, I’m sorry. I was an awful father. I needed to protect you, and look what happened,” Okumura laughs miserably, “Forgive me. But this will keep you safe.” Akechi leans forward, and cranes his neck to see what’s happening. There’s something in his hands. He brings it to his neck, and then falls. All the Thieves stumble backwards, except for Okumura-san, who rushes forward and screams. 

“What? What is happening!?” Niijima screams too. Akechi notices that Akira has moved to the back of the pack, as far away from Okumura as he possibly can without looking like he’s running off. 

“Father? Father!” Okumura-san’s shaking him, but nothing happens. His body is going to disappear soon, along with the rest of the Palace. They need to all get moving if they’re going to make it out of here alive. Akechi’s in a weird spot, so he rushes through his tunnels, and gets his ass out of the Palace. He hides himself quickly in the real world, and moments later, the rest of the Thieves appear. All of them look tired and shaken. Akira pushes himself out to the fringe of the group, and the girls surround Okumura-san. Sakamoto looks pissed off.

“Someone must have ordered him to off himself if we ever looked into him,” Sakamoto says, and he kicks the ground. Akira looks even more unsettled. Was this really the best option? Suddenly, Akira turns to the rest of the group.

“Can we all meet at Leblanc? I need to go walk around for a couple of minutes.”

“Akira, are you okay?” Okumura-san says. Akira looks over at her. 

“I think I should be asking you that question. I’m sorry,” Akira says, and starts walking off.

“Wait, Akira! It’s not your fault! It’s whoever’s behind all this!” Okumura-san calls out, but Akira doesn’t turn back. The rest of the Thieves share a concerned look. Sakura-san then turns to address them.

“I’m going to go talk to him,” she says, “he seems to be more willing to talk to me about some things. You guys go take Morgana to the cafe, and tell Sojiro to close up shop.”

“Will do,” Takamaki says, and she picks up Morgana. Sakura-san makes a thinking face. 

“And someone get into contact with Akechi. I want to talk to him too.” He might as well reveal himself, much to the shock of the Thieves.

“Dude, are you stalking us or something?” Sakamoto says. 

“I saw what happened. My condolences, Okumura-san,” Akechi says. 

“Oh, Akechi-kun, you… Wait, are you a Metaverse user?” Okumura-san says. 

“I believe we’ve met before. Sakura-san, would you like me to come to Leblanc with them?” 

“If you would,” Sakura-san says, and she walks off in the direction Akira went. 


	60. Chapter 60

Futaba walks as quickly as she can without it seeming weird. She hopes she can catch up with him, and that he didn’t go disappear off to the train or something. There aren’t many people here at all. This is good for Futaba, as not having to deal with crowds is nice, and it makes her search easier. Not like there’s anyone else around here that would be wearing a school uniform. She keeps walking, but it doesn’t take her very long to find him. Akira’s sitting on a random bench, looking at his feet, with his hands under his chin. He doesn’t even look up at any people passing by. Futaba’s honestly pretty weirded out. Akira does get a little distant every once in a while, but it seems like most things don’t affect him too much. Could this relate to whatever’s going on with him and Akechi? Wait, no, Futaba never had that conversation with him. Nope, she’s definitely not supposed to know about their time traveling or whatever. Futaba stands right next to Akira. He doesn’t even look up, and keeps staring at his shoes. Futaba pokes him.

“Akira? Hellooo?” Futaba says. Akira finally looks up at her, and gives her a small, sad smile. Futaba’s got a million questions all running through her brain. Something must have gone really badly. Well, of course something went really badly. But was this something Akira didn’t expect to happen? Did Okumura die last time, and bad things happened? Did Akira try to prevent his death somehow? Apparently, Akira had said that they’re going to have a lot of issues coming up soon. Did he try to prevent Okumura’s death to dodge whatever those issues are? Futaba’s almost certain that the Thieves are going to be put under fire for Okumura’s coming death. His Shadow killed himself, after all. No return from that. 

“Hey, Futaba. Sorry. I’ll be there soon,” he says. He’s intentionally being stubborn, isn’t he. Futaba stands stock-still, and stares at him. Akira stares back. To Futaba, and to the rest of the Thieves, it seems to be that Akira barely opens up about his issues most of the time. To which Futaba wonders; is it more because he wants to hide his issues because he doesn’t want to be asked about them and appear weak, or he’s trying to protect them from something for as long as possible? Futaba can’t ask. 

“Well,” Futaba says, “I’m gonna wait on you.” Akira looks a bit surprised, but he sits there for a while longer. Futaba sits down next to him, and twiddles her thumbs. Akira still looks upset, but he gets up, and motions for Futaba to follow him. They walk quietly, with Futaba lagging ever so slightly behind Akira. 

“I should probably talk to Goro,” Akira mumbles, and pulls out his phone. Futaba makes no attempt to stop him. Why would she? If she won’t talk to her, he’ll at least talk to him, hopefully. Futaba doesn’t like Akechi in the slightest, but Akira can’t just bottle up everything. They make their way to the station. The rest of the Thieves and Akechi aren’t here, so they wait for the next train to come. 

The Thieves occupy the end section of one of the train cars. Akechi’s standing apart from them, leaning against the end cap of the seats and looking out the window on the door. The Thieves are in various positions, some standing, some sitting. A somber mood has settled in around them. Haru’s still sniffling a little bit, but she’s making a brave face. She’s not sure how she feels, truthfully. Seeing her father die like that was scary, and her grief is already starting to set in. But, she also knows that hopefully, the issues that are rife within Okumura Foods will start being dealt with. Plus, she’s also concerned about his last words. What on earth does she need to be kept safe from that’s so dangerous that her father killed himself? Haru’s hands clench around the hem of her skirt, and someone pats her back gently. It’s Ann, who’s also a bit shell shocked from what happened in the Palace. She’s been trying her best to comfort Haru, but she’s been also noticing the reactions of the other Thieves. Since Futaba’s not here, she wasn’t totally able to figure out what she’s been thinking, but Ann’s also very concerned about Akira. Watching him walk off like that was worrying. The rest of the Thieves feel the same way. Ryuji’s pissed off, both because of Okumura’s death, and Akira leaving. At this rate, he feels like he’s going to grab Akira by the shoulders, and shout at him and ask him what’s wrong. And then there’s the matter of Akechi, who’s still standing there, staring dead out the window. He has to know something about what happened.

“Yo, Akechi,” Ryuji says. Akechi stops looking out the window, and turns ever so slightly to look at Ryuji. 

“What do you want?” Akechi asks quietly. The rest of the Thieves turn to look over at the scene playing out in front of them. Makoto’s bracing herself for a fight. There’s no way to know what Ryuji’s going to say to Akechi-kun, and there’s no way to know how Akechi-kun’s going to react. Morgana’s also watching closely from Ann’s bag. He can’t do much in his cat form, other than watch, but he’s going to try his best if things go south.

“Did your big scary boss person cause this somehow?” Ryuji asks. Akechi purses his lips.

“I would believe so. Shi-” Akechi makes a strangled coughing noise, “Sorry.” Ryuji’s even more pissed.

“So you knew all this was going to happen, huh? Why didn’t you tell us so we wouldn’t do it?” Ryuji watches Akechi’s face tense up, but it suddenly relaxes into something Ryuji doesn’t recognize. He then turns to Haru.

“Okumura-san. I’m sorry. It’s a long story not fit for the public to hear.” Haru looks over at Ryuji. It’s weird hearing an apology from Akechi. Yusuke’s certain there’s going to be more of those, especially once Akira and Futaba come back to Leblanc. At least there’s coffee and food to look forward to. Ryuji feels himself deflate, and the anxiousness the other Thieves are feeling fades a bit. Akechi doesn’t seem to be up for much talking. Hopefully, they all think, both him and Akira might be willing to explain some things once they get to Leblanc. Speaking of which, the train doors open to Yongen-Jaya, and they all spill out. 

Once they make it to Leblanc, Makoto talks to Sojiro for a few minutes while he gets the drinks going, asking him to please close the store. He seems to understand, and the rest of the Thieves pile into the booth seats. Now, they just have to wait for Akira and Futaba to show back up.


	61. Chapter 61

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welcome back to "Instead of doing their summer english homework, yikes instead decides to write fanfiction."

Akira walks into Leblanc behind Futaba, who immediately sits down in one of the booth seats next to Yusuke and Makoto. He’s not ready for whatever conversation they want to have now. Goro’s here too, at least. But the Thieves are definitely going to grill him on something, even if it’s just about his reaction. Akira wants to just walk by them again, go up into his room, and sleep for the next thousand years. He should have expected this to happen. There was no way Okumura was going to go down gracefully, but Akira didn’t know just how brutal it was going to be. And hearing Haru scream like that…

“Um, Akira? Are you going to sit down?” Makoto says. Akira refocuses, and slides into the seat next to Goro. As he sits down, he feels himself slip back into his thoughts. He can’t be doing that. If he’s depended on as the leader, he can’t be lost in his own head. He doesn’t know how to break the oppressive silence that’s cloaking Leblanc right now, though. Usually, he finds comfort in the quietness, but now he’s just waiting on it to crack.

“So,” Haru says softly, cracking the silence, “this means he’s going to die, right?” Her voice is still thick. Akira doesn’t know what to say. Neither do the rest of the Thieves, but Goro turns around so he’s looking at the Thieves.

“Yes, he will be, soon. When a person’s cognitive self is killed, they go down too,” he says bluntly. Haru nods slowly. Akira looks over at Ryuji, who’s visibly vibrating in what must be anger.

“I still don’t get it, Akechi. You knew he was gonna die. Okumura’s dead, and lemme guess, the Thieves are getting blamed for it,” Ryuji says. Haru suddenly puts her hand on his shoulder. 

“Ryuji, I don’t think it’s best if we fight right now. Akechi-kun, if it’s true that you knew something was going to happen to my father, I want you to tell me that ‘long story’ you were talking about,” Haru says. Akira watches Goro’s face darken slightly. Ryuji sets his jaw.

“Maybe you could tell us who you’re working for, while you’re at it!” Ryuji says. Goro looks ticked off. He glances over at Akira. He’s going to say something that reveals the truth, isn’t he? Might as well get it over with. The Thieves were going to find out at some point, anyway. Akira nods back.

“Masayoshi Shido.” Goro spits his name out. Ryuji looks confused. 

“I feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere,” Makoto says. Yusuke already has his phone out. Ann has hers out too, but she’s rapidly typing something. 

“There’s a hit in the MetaNav...” Yusuke says. Akira’s keeping an eye on Haru. For her sake, they really shouldn’t be having this conversation now. She’s got a complicated look on her face. Akira can’t imagine the position she’s in. At least last time, she didn’t have to see him ‘die,’ and also know that his real death was imminent. 

“Wait, he’s a cabinet member?! And he’s trying to be prime minister?!” Ann says. Haru looks over at Ann’s phone.

“I think I’ve seen my father speaking to him,” Haru says. Now, Goro looks confused.

“Generally, he doesn’t tend to talk to his lackeys that want mental shutdowns in person,” Goro mutters, absently pinching his chin. It would almost be cute if it weren’t for the context. Haru makes another strange face, but then it seems like all the pieces fall into place for her.

“Oh, I didn’t mean in person. There’s just been times where Father would disappear into his study, and with you saying ‘mental shutdowns,’ a while later he would always celebrate one of Okumura Foods’s competitors having issues,” Haru says. 

“I see,” Goro says. Akira can see that some people’s cups are running low, so he gets up and slinks behind the counter to start making coffee. He’s also wanting to do something to keep his hands moving. No one’s directly asked him anything yet, anyway. 

“But, if it’s because of Shido-san, why my father? Did something happen between them?” Haru asks. 

“There’s probably many reasons,” Goro says bitterly, “but Okumura’s abuses are well known within Shido’s inner circle. So, when it came time for them to pick a target that you all and the public could get behind, he was an easy fall guy.” Haru still looks very upset, understandably, but she nods sharply. 

“So why don’t we go change his heart?” Ann asks. Goro sighs deeply, and is about to say something when Akira cuts him off. 

“We aren’t. At least not for a while. We aren’t in any shape to deal with that Palace. We said that the last time we talked like this, if I remember correctly,” Akira says. Goro glances over to see if he’s done talking, and adds some points of his own.

“There’s also some, let’s just say  _ personal _ reasons why I don’t want to be anywhere near that Palace for now. Also, considering your incoming fall from grace, if you were Shido, wouldn’t it be a little odd that the Thieves figured out that you have a Palace?” Goro says. The Thieves all think on this for a moment, and seem to come to the same conclusion. Akira’s finished remaking everyone’s coffees, and brings them out. He sits back down next to Goro 

“Thank you, Akira,” Makoto says, “but, Akechi-kun, there must be something we can do, right?” Oh, right. Goro’s probably going to talk about Sae’s Palace now. But instead, he turns towards Haru.

“There is. But it’s going to be very complicated, and I’m certainly tired. Okumura-san deserves a rest too, as far as I’m concerned,” Goro says. Akira’s flabbergasted. He’s been realizing that Goro’s rare moments of empathy have become more and more common, but this is one of the first times that it doesn’t feel like it’s an act, or directed at himself or Sumire. Speaking of Sumire, isn’t she supposed to have her awakening soon? But that means going into Maruki’s Palace again, which is going to be a whole new can of worms and bad memories. He probably won’t be able to convince Goro to come along with him. 

“Earth to Akira?” Futaba says. What was he thinking earlier about not getting lost in his own head? 

“Huh? 

“Okay, yeah, we do all need some sleep. I’ll tell Sojiro to go get blankets and futons for anyone that wants to stay here tonight,” Futaba says, “I know Haru and Ann said they wanted to stay, but who else?” Hold on, does this mean that everyone’s staying the night? Akira reprimands himself for not paying attention.

“I’ll stay with you guys, I’ll just tell my sister,” Makoto says. Akira racks his brain. How hard did he zone out that he ended up missing this entire conversation? Futaba turns to Akira.

“Did you even hear what we were talking about?” she asks. Lying isn’t going to get him anywhere. 

“No, sorry, I spaced out,” he says. Ann switches from looking at Haru with concern, to sharing that look with him. 

“Well,” Ann says, “Haru said she doesn’t really want to be alone right now, and we were wondering if it would be okay to sleep here? It’s fine if you don’t want us to, we can go find another-”

“Yeah, it’s fine. Futaba, I’ll help you carry stuff,” he says. He doesn’t want to be alone right now, either. 

“Yusuke and I can help out, too,” Ryuji says. Akira looks over at Goro, who’s distanced himself from the rest of the group and crossed his arms. Like usual, it seems like he’s got things on his mind that he isn’t saying. Haru looks over at Goro.

“Akechi-kun, I would appreciate it if you stayed, too.” Goro’s visibly confused. 

“Why, may I ask?” he says. 

“I liked the fact that you were honest about what was happening,” she says, “and I don’t think any of us should be alone with our thoughts right now.”  _ Bless you, Haru,  _ Akira thinks. He wonders how such a sweet person ever agreed to join their ranks, let alone swing an axe around like she does. Goro scowls, but he doesn’t argue back. 

“Although,” Makoto says, “what are we going to do about school tomorrow?” 

“I could always make it show that you show up as being present on your attendance!” Futaba says. Makoto sighs. 

“You know what? Do it. Please.” Makoto says, and Futaba’s face lights up. 

“Okay! Also, those who are helping me carry stuff, come with me,” she says, and then walks out the door. Ryuji and Yusuke follow her out, with Akira not very far behind. Out of the corner of his eye through the window, he can see Goro saying something to the girls, and then walk upstairs. The four of them continue walking down Yongen-Jaya’s streets, their footsteps the only sound.

“Hey, uh, I didn’t feel like it was right to ask in front of Haru and all, but are you okay?” Ryuji says sheepishly, “You running off like that kinda scared me.” 

“I’m fine. Just a little shaken.” Akira says. He is very much not fine, but Ryuji doesn’t need to know just how much seeing that fucked him up.

“Akira, I’m not so sure about that,” Yusuke says, calling him on his bluff, “you’ve been very spacey lately, and it’s making all of us concerned. I know you probably talk to Akechi about things, but you know you can always talk to us, okay?” 

“I know. I’m sorry,” Akira says, and they walk into the Sakura household. Sojiro’s sitting on the couch, reading his book. He nearly jumps out of his seat when he sees the four of them.

“What are you all doing here?” he asks.

“Sojirooo, where do we keep the futons? We’re all having a sleep over at Leblanc.” Futaba says. Sojiro looks befuddled, but he gets up, and leads them over to a closet. They pull out six futons and bedding, and start making their way back to Leblanc as quickly and carefully as possible. No one’s standing in the main cafe area, so they make their way upstairs. 

“I assumed someone would want to take the couch,” Akira says as he dumps the futons he was carrying on the floor. Haru’s already sitting on the couch with a blanket wrapped around her. Good thing he told Goro where the blanket stash is. The Thieves grab their futons, and start setting up, while Akira lays back in his own bed. Morgana hops right up onto his usual spot. Goro sets up his futon directly beside Akira’s bed, but he doesn’t lay down just yet. Instead, he sits up and addresses the room.

“I apologize in advance if my phone suddenly starts going off. Shido does like his drinks,” he says, and then lays down. 

“Uh, dude, does he seriously drunk call you?” Ryuji says. It’s the most concern for Goro that he’s seen out of him.

“Precisely, Sakamoto.” Goro says, and then he starts typing on his phone. 

**August 22nd, 20XX**

**10:57 pm**

**Crow: Unrelated, but when and where does Yoshizawa-san have her awakening?**

**Joker: uhhhh soon but**

**Crow: But what?**

**Joker: so marukis palace is already kind of forming**

**Joker: and we accidentally got sucked in there**

**Crow: Jesus fucking Christ.**

**Crow: Also, you and I need to talk privately about what happened.**

**Joker: agreed**

**Joker: not rn though still kind of processing things**

**Crow: Understood.**


	62. Chapter 62

Akechi wakes up to his phone buzzing between his hand and his chest. Of course, it’s Shido. And of course, it has to be at some ungodly hour. He presses the phone closer to his chest in an attempt to silence its vibration, and sits up. Akechi looks over at Akira, who still seems to be asleep. Morgana’s curled up on top of Akira, and one of his hands is lightly resting on Morgana’s back. Akechi feels a pang of something- envy, perhaps? How far he’s fallen. Tokyo’s Prince, Shido’s puppet, whatever he is, is jealous of a cat. He stands up, and silently maneuvers himself around the others asleep on the floor. Leblanc’s cafe area is pitch black. He wants to go outside to answer this, but the sound of the bells on the door is probably going to be a hell of a lot louder than his voice. Shido’s on his third attempt at calling him, and after letting it ring almost all the way, Akechi answers.

“Did things go as planned?”

“Yes, sir,” is all Akechi has to say, as Shido hangs up immediately once he hears the yes. That went reasonably well. Pleasantly, even. Akechi realizes he’s still standing in the middle of Leblanc, so he sits down in one of the booth seats out of view of any of the windows. Hopefully, no exhausted passer-by saw him. Wouldn’t be wanting to have Leblanc have a reputation of being haunted now, would he. He’s about to start flicking through his phone again when he hears the sound of quiet footsteps coming down the stairs. They’re not as heavy as Akira’s, so Akechi’s forced to wonder just who it is. In the dim light of the cafe, Akechi watches Okumura-san peer into the darkness. 

“Akechi-kun? Are you down here?” she asks.

“Yeah, sorry if my phone ringing woke you up.” Okumura-san’s eyes must already be adjusted to the dark, as she smoothly walks over to the booth where Akechi is, and sits down across from him. He immediately feels awkward. Maybe it’s because he still sees last time’s Okumura-san in front of him. The one that he was responsible for hurting. 

“Oh, no, it’s fine! I wasn’t sleeping too well anyway.”

“Understandable,” Akechi says. Yup, he’s definitely still seeing her past self. 

“Was that Shido-san on the phone?” she asks. The cat’s out of the bag, and it’s not like Akira was randomly calling him.

“Yes, it was.” There he goes again with the curt responses. Okumura-san scrunches her face up a little bit. 

“Um, Akechi-kun. Do you mind if I ask you a question?”

“Ask away.”

“You’re the one behind the mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns, correct?” At least she’s straight to the point. Akechi respects that. 

“That’s right. Did Morgana happen to tell you?” Morgana wouldn’t, most likely. They seemed too wrapped up in their own game.

“No, Mona-chan only told me that the Thieves weren’t the ones responsible. After we met who I presume is you now in Mementos, and you knowing stuff about the mental shutdowns, I felt that that there was a pretty solid chance it was you.”

“And you would be correct. My apologies for acting how I did in Mementos, by the way.” 

“Don’t be, please. I shouldn’t have pointed my gun at you. But-” her voice trails off momentarily, “is there some reason why you’re still working for him?” Okumura-san’s been honest with him so far, so there’s no reason why he shouldn’t continue reciprocating that. Out of the corner of his eye, however, he watches a certain boy slip down the stairs silently. Seems like sometimes Akira can actually be sneaky in the real world. Akechi keeps one eye on him, but he starts responding to Okumura-san. 

“For one, I essentially have a gun to my head here. If I stop doing what Shido tells me, I’ll most likely wind up having a ‘mysterious accident’ happen. And then, the rest of you will likely follow. Then, all of those ‘mental shutdowns’ and ‘psychotic breakdowns’ will turn into more unfortunate accidents.”

“I see… I’m sorry that you’re in this position, Akechi-kun.” Akechi’s almost concerned that she’s reacting like this. Isn’t she supposed to hate him? And there’s that girl’s voice again, declaring the birth of the **Empress** persona. 

“I’m managing.” Akechi says, and then Okumura-san yawns.

“I’m going to go back upstairs now. I hope you can get back to sleep soon, Akechi-kun,” Okumura-san says, and then she gets up and walks back upstairs, past wherever Akira’s hiding. As soon as she’s cleared Akechi’s line of sight, Akira pops out from… somewhere. Akechi’s got no clue where in Leblanc he was actually hiding. He wasn’t standing in front of him one minute, and now he is. 

“I see you’ve learned how to use your talents in the real world, Mister Phantom Thief,” Akechi says to Akira’s standing form. Akira laughs a little, and then slides into the booth, sitting down directly next to Akechi.

“Aren’t you one to be making assumptions about my talents, Mister Detective Prince.” Akechi groans, but he supposes he deserves it. Akira heaves a heavy sigh, and puts one of his elbows on the table, effectively trapping Akechi between Leblanc’s wall and him. He looks upset, however.

“Do you want to talk?” Akechi says. He’s definitely not turning soft, but he can definitely tell that he actually _wants_ to treat Akira nicely. Akira hangs his head a bit, and then swiftly changes positions so he can plop his head on Akechi’s shoulder. Akechi doesn’t mind how physical Akira is, in fact, he prefers it over words. Words can be very dangerous. But still, of all people, why him?

“I wish Haru didn’t have to see that,” Akira whispers, “It was bad enough last time, but now he’s basically going to die twice in her eyes.” 

“I know.”

“And now we have to deal with all the shit that’s coming.”

“I know.” What else is Akechi supposed to say? ‘Oh, it’s not that bad.’ No. Him and Akira both know just how big the crock pot of shit they’re going to get served is. 

“Sometimes I wish none of this ever happened. No me punching Shido, no gods fucking around with my life, nothing.”

“You punched Shido?”

“Did I never tell you about that? That’s the whole reason I’m on probation.”

“Color me impressed. But I understand what you’re saying.” 

“I feel so selfish whenever I think like that, though, cause everyone upstairs would still be stuck in their situations without the Thieves, most likely.” 

“At least you’re trying. You’re not going to up and ditch them, right?”

“Huh? Of course not?”

“Now, does that sound selfish to you?”

“No.”

“There’s your answer.” Akira seems to be satisfied by this, and tucks himself into Akechi. Is this how Akira feels when Akechi tosses himself on him? Akira probably doesn’t feel as frozen as Akechi does right now, who feels like he has to move through sand if he wants to reposition his arms in any way. Akechi silently blames it on all those who denied him affection like this. He can’t even move to comfort the one person he can place his trust in. He really is a monster-

“Hey, shut your mind up and tell me if your arm goes numb. I’m going to sleep.” Akechi sputters a bit.

“Wouldn’t you rather sleep up in a bed?” Akechi says.

“I don’t think Morgana would like waking up to your face in his bed.”

“Fair, I guess. But I also have a futon, you know.” 

“Eh, nah. I’m comfortable here.” Fine, Akira. You win. Akechi lets his head drop, and he falls into much-needed sleep.

He wakes up at sunrise. Until now, he didn’t realize just how much light could come in through the cafe’s windows. He opens his eyes warily, and looks around. Akira’s still out, and there doesn’t seem to be anyone else in here, from his limited scope of view. He can’t move too much without disturbing Akira, after all. He takes a deep breath. Today, he will likely have to do some inane activity with the Thieves, and he will force himself to enjoy it. After all, at this rate, he’s got to take what he can get. And also, mentally prep himself for what’s coming.

Several days later, he’s walking in his school when his phone buzzes.

**October 3rd, 20XX**

**Joker: todays the day**

**Joker: if you want to come**

**Joker: come to odaiba**

**Crow: Joy.**

**Crow: I will see you there.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you cant tell, im touch starved and like writing these fools cuddling as a substitute for me getting hugs


	63. Chapter 63

Akira’s standing in the middle of Shujin’s hallway, with his phone in one hand and Sumire’s charm in the other. He should have realized that it’s the middle of the day. Telling Goro that today’s the day might make him jump the gun and go into the Palace early, or end up loitering around the stadium and looking suspicious. Akira quickly sends a text to Sumire and Goro, after Morgana reminds him that he should probably do that. 

“I hope Yoshizawa-san’s feeling okay,” Morgana says, his head popping out of Akira’s bag. 

“Me too,” Akira says, knowing full well she probably isn’t. He doesn’t remember their exact conversation, but he knows about the school breathing down her neck. If only Shujin could actually manage themselves without the corruption that seems to be everywhere in here. Even with Kamoshida and Kobayakawa no longer being here, Shujin’s still rife with issues. Not much he can do right now, however, unless there’s any worth in systematically changing every member of the administration’s heart. That would be incredibly suspicious, and who knows who else could have Shido ties. All he can do right now is go back to class. Lunch is over, anyway.

Back in class, he’s once again bored out of his skull. He might as well harass Goro. 

**2:12 pm**

**Joker: heyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy**

**Joker: also btw act natural once you get there**

**Crow: Am I supposed to act as the sweet prince for Yoshizawa-san?**

**Joker: nah i meant more like dont stroll up and be like yo morgana you ready to go into this palace**

**Crow: Since when did I do anything like that?**

**Joker: just making sure**

**Crow: Also please don’t tell me you want me to wear that goddamn prince costume…**

**Crow: I can barely even summon it at this point**

**Joker: interesting**

“Kurusu-kun, I see you’re keeping your head up in space. Answer this question then. If we use ‘three watermelons in the sun’ to visualize a certain matter’s size against the universe’s, what are the melons?”

“Stars,” Akira answers effortlessly. Mr. Hiruta looks surprised, but he continues his lecture. He turns his attention back to his phone.

**Crow: How far did you three go in last time?**

**Joker: not very far just to that entrance area maruki wasnt there btw**

**Crow: Okay, good. I don’t wish to see his face until absolutely necessary.**

**Crow: Sorry, I must go. I’ll see you in Odaiba.**

**Joker: bye :)**

**Crow: Goodbye**

**Crow: :)**

After school, as he’s walking out of class, his phone rings. It’s Sumire, telling him that she’s in front of the stadium. Hopefully, his and Goro’s timing will be right, and they’ll show up at the same time to get sucked into Maruki’s Palace. Morgana’s concerned about Sumire, anyway, so he better get going. 

It’s the same as last time, but with one exception. Akira’s walking down the road to the stadium, and in the distance he spots Sumire, and even farther in the distance, he spots what looks like Goro. It looks like he’s in range to be sucked in by the MetaNav. Then again, Akira never really figured out how it decided to pull people in. When they activated it in populated areas, it never seemed to pull anyone else in, but it pulled in people like Ann. Well, it’s not like he wants to ask whoever’s the one giving out the MetaNav, anyway, because it could be Yaldabaoth doing that. The real Igor also doesn’t seem to be very conversational, so Akira doubts he’ll get answers from him. 

Sumire looks over at Akira, and jumps slightly. She must have been deep in thought, and still seems to be deep in thought, as she doesn’t notice Goro getting closer. He can’t hear the MetaNav activate, but seconds later he feels the heavy weight of his Thief clothes on him. Morgana slides down his back, and immediately jumps.

“Are- is- this is a Palace!” Morgana says, “Do you think Yoshizawa-san did this?” 

“She might have the Nav,” Akira says, and Goro walks up to them.

“Joker, what’s going on here?” Goro says calmly, and Morgana once again jumps.

“Crow? Wha- How? Did you activate the Nav?” Morgana says before Akira can think of anything to say.

“No, I was walking along and I just happened to spot Akira and Yoshizawa-san. Seems like someone else around here activated it.” Goro says, absently fiddling with his gauntlets. 

“It doesn’t matter who activated the Nav right now. We need to go save her,” Akira reminds the group.  “Right! Crow, can you back us up?” Morgana says. His voice doesn’t sound all to happy about possibly having to work with Goro, but Sumire’s in trouble. Goro nods, and the three of them walk into the Palace. Akira’s not all too happy to be back here, and Goro looks pretty tensed up. Morgana doesn’t seem to notice them acting strange, thankfully. They walk up the staircase, and Morgana spots the door from last time. It’s locked again, much to Goro’s chagrin. 

“Of course the fucking door’s gotta be locked,” Akira hears him mutter, “Can’t be having anything go easy now, can we.” As they walk away from it, Morgana spots the foothold that they used last time, and the three of them jump up on the strange sculpture thing. Sumire shouts something, and the three of them slide down the sculpture. They wind up somewhat far away from Sumire and her cognitive self.

“Is that a cognitive being?” Morgana says. The cognitive Sumire says something to Sumire, and then Sumire drops to the ground. As expected, a Shadow emerges from the ground, and strikes down cognitive Sumire. Now’s as good of a time as any, so the three of them rush up. Goro’s already got his sword in his hand, and his eyes are fixed on the Shadow towering over Sumire. After a few taunts from the Shadow, the humanoid Shadow turns into a Byakhee.

“Yoshizawa-san, are you okay?” Morgana says. Goro looks like he’s about ready to charge at the Byakhee.

“Crow, hold. Are you hurt at all?” Goro shoots him a scowl, and Sumire struggles to try to get up.

“Huh? Wait- Akira-senpai?” Akira’s about to respond to her, but the Shadow starts taunting her again, and disembodied voices join in. Sumire’s visibly growing more and more frustrated, and it seems to eventually reach a peak. She stands up, and starts her awakening. Akira and Goro look at each other and nod. 

“I am Kasumi Yoshizawa!” Sumire screams, and then stumbles. The rest of her false awakening goes by just as expected, and Akira doesn’t know how he didn’t notice the lack of blood last time. Cendrillon pops up behind Sumire, and she draws her sword. Akira gives the nod, and they all charge into battle. Sumire gets to go first, and Akira tells her to use Kouga to knock it down. The first all out attack doesn’t kill it, and neither does the second one after it gets knocked down from Akira’s Kougaon. Its health is rather low, though, and Morgana doesn’t have any bless skills that can be used. He has Morgana just attack it with his sword, and somehow, it still isn’t dead. Akira has no way of knowing what Persona Goro has equipped, so he takes a gamble, and tells Goro to do whatever he wishes. The Megidolaon explodes around it, and when it disappears, the Shadow is gone. Sumire breathes a sigh of relief, and stumbles. 

“Yoshizawa-san! Are you okay?” Morgana says. Sumire starts to shake her head, but then she gets back up. Akira notices that Goro’s retreated so he’s standing away from the other two, choosing to stand to the left and slightly behind Akira. If he’s trying to hide, it’s not working. 

“I will not be weak anymore,” she declares once she’s fully standing. 

“I’m impressed! Awakening your Persona takes a lot out of people,” Morgana says, and then Sumire looks over at Akira.

“You’re Akira-senpai, right?” Akira briefly takes off his mask and nods.

“Yeah.” Akira says. Sumire looks over at Goro, and looks a little startled now that she’s got a full look at his outfit.

“Um… Akira-senpai… Who is this? And why are we all wearing such strange outfits, anyway?” 

“It’s rather complicated to explain, Yoshizawa-san,” Goro says, stealing the words right out of Akira’s mouth. He looks like he’s about to say something else, but Morgana senses more Shadows incoming, so they have to make their swift exit. 

“Akechi-san? What are you doing here? Wait, now we’re back in normal clothes!” Sumire says once they’re back in the real world. 

“This is where we were before we entered the Metaverse. We’re back in the real world now,” Morgana says, but Sumire still looks confused, and nicely demands that Morgana explains what just happened. Akira lets him talk, and tunes out. He might be staring at Goro, but that’s irrelevant. Goro’s also seemingly tuned out, and is casually leaning up against the wall surrounding the stadium. After those two talk for a while, Sumire turns back to Akira.

“I feel like I understand what’s going on now, but, I know I asked this question, but who was the other person in there?” she asks. Instead of answering, Akira jerks his head and points in Goro’s direction. Sumire looks over at Goro, and gasps. Looks like things have clicked for her. 

“What?” Goro says.

“Akechi-san, was that you in the… Palace, right?” Sumire says, and Goro sighs. He walks over to rejoin the group.

“Indeed,” he says coolly. 

“Wow. I didn’t expect that you’d have such a scary outfit, Akechi-san!” she says, and Goro sighs again. For Goro’s sake, Akira redirects Sumire’s attention by giving her her charm. She thanks him profusely, and Morgana asks if something happened to her earlier. After explaining, Goro seems to be pissed off. 

“Shujin really doesn’t know how to not be awful,” he mutters. 

“It’s fine!” Sumire says, ever chipper, and the conversation rolls over to the matter of the Nav. Sumire’s phone is dead, so she can’t show that she has the Nav, but it’s reasonable enough to assume that she has it. After an awkward pause, she looks at the three of them,

“I’ve been meaning to ask… Are the three of you part of the Phantom Thieves?” Sumire says, and Goro scoffs. 

“I’m not a Phantom Thief. I do, however, work with Akira here,” Goro says. Sumire looks confused.

“However, you did catch us two.” Akira says with a wink. She looks back and forth at them. 

“Wait… So I told the Phantom Thieves that I don’t agree with their motives… and Akechi-san is working with the Thieves-”

“Working with Akira.”

“But, still, Akechi-san, don’t you hate the Thieves?” Goro shakes his head.

“I’m not particularly fond of some of the members, but no, I do not hate them. They’re in the right.” Sumire’s confused. Not surprising, since this is the first time Goro’s dropped the mask in front of her. 

“You think we should invite her?” Morgana says, and instead of waiting for Akira’s answer, he asks her if she wants to join. Unsurprisingly, she turns it down, and they go their separate ways. 


	64. Chapter 64

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So uhhh I'm gonna kind of go on hiatus for a bit I have family visiting and summer homework I need to finish. BUT when I have free time I'll try to work on and post more chapters. Love you guys and thank you for understanding :).

“Akechi-kun, I believe this is a moment we should celebrate,” Shido says as he clicks off the TV in his office. Akechi keeps his face stone cold, but nods. He isn’t sure how he’s feeling this time around after being forced to watch Okumura’s death. Last time, he remembers that he felt not quite happy, more just glad that another piece of his own personal plan fell into place. Shido’s starting to trust him just about as much as Shido can possibly trust another person. It helps Akechi get himself some breathing room when dealing with Shido, but not enough to be comfortable. One should not make themselves comfortable around Masayoshi Shido. 

“Indeed, Shido-san,” Akechi says. He doesn’t want to be here any longer than he needs to be, and he’s got unanswered texts from someone that he might need to reply to.

“Now, we wait for their fall,” Shido says with a wicked grin on his face. Akechi nods again, and then Shido waves him out. Once again, it was almost pleasant. As pleasant as watching a man dying on TV with a sociopathic tyrant can possibly be. Well, Akechi doesn’t have to worry about having to talk to him in person for a while. If he’s remembering correctly, the next time he’ll be in this office, he’ll be talking about the plans for the in-Metaverse arrest of the Thieves. That’s just another thing he’s going to need to talk to Akira about. But he doesn’t want to think about that right now. Okumura’s dying expression is still too fresh in his mind. So, he turns his attention to his phone. There’s a new group chat here that he’s been added to, as well as a text from Akira.

**October 11, 20XX**

**8:42 pm**

**Joker: the rest of the thieves forced me to add you to our group chat sorry about that**

**Joker: but we’re all at leblanc right now**

**Joker: im assuming youre tied up somewhere else**

**Crow: I’m sorry about not responding. Shido made me watch Okumura’s death with him.**

**Joker: thats fucked up**

**Crow: Akira, it’s okay.**

**Crow: I’m going to go speak with Sae-san, and then I’ll come over, if you want me to.**

**Joker: please do**

Akechi slides his phone back into his pocket, and walks up to Sae-san, who’s watching Okumura’s press conference again. She’s so focused on the screen that she doesn’t even seem to notice Akechi. Good for him, as it allows him to switch back into his professional Prince mask. He casually tries to make his presence known, and then pretends to be horrified by what she’s watching. The video still disturbs him on some level, but at this point it’s nowhere near the worst he’s seen, and he’s already seen it multiple times. Sae-san begins theorizing about the Phantom Thieves’s involvement, which Akechi deflects by suggesting that another party may be involved. After a short spat of arguing, Sae-san tells him about the investigation into the Okumura residence and Shujin, and also asks him if he’s tampered with her laptop in any way. This question was very much out of left field last time, but now that he knows about the Phantom Thieves’s own investigation, he’s able to brush it off much more smoothly, and with that, he leaves. He’d like to get over to Leblanc as soon as possible, and warn the Thieves about their upcoming problems. Then, he remembers.

**Spooky Scary Phantom Thieves**

**9:06 pm**

**Crow: So, what exactly was the point in adding me to this?**

**Crow: Pardon me for sounding harsh, but I’m not a member of the Phantom Thieves.**

**Noir: We thought that it was important that we had you in the loop, considering you seem to be quite knowledgeable about things.**

**Crow: I see.**

**Crow: Also, Okumura-san, my condolences about what happened with your father.**

**Noir: I’ve made my peace with it.**

**Crow: I know you all are together right now, so I want to discuss some things in person.**

**Skull: like what**

**Crow: There are some things you don’t want to have written down, Sakamoto.**

**Crow: I will say this right now, however.**

**Crow: Both the Okumura household and Shujin will be investigated by the police tomorrow, so it is in all of your best interests to go to school and keep your heads down.**

**Crow: Except for you, Okumura-san, I’d recommend staying at home.**

**Panther: I mean, I get why the police would want to look into Shujin, but why right now?**

**Crow: Most likely to plant the false calling card for your principal.**

**Crow: I don’t know exactly why, though.**

**Queen: Do you know if my sister is involved at all?**

**Crow: Yes she is, and she’s part of what I want to talk about.**

**Joker: you want to talk about that now**

**Crow: Yes. I felt that it would be prudent.**

**Joker: i see**

**Crow: I’m almost there, see you all soon.**

Akechi gets off the train, and steps out into Yongen-Jaya. It’s eerily quiet, setting the tone nicely for the upcoming conversation. He doesn’t know just how far in advance the Thieves planned Akira’s break out last time, but their whole plan seemed to be rather well thought out. Akechi doesn’t plan on or want to kill Akira again, so whatever they did last time’s going to have to be scrapped. 

“Man, why do we have to deal with all of this now- oh, Akechi, hi,” Sakamoto says. 

“Hello,” Akechi says, and pulls out his chair at the counter to join the group. He can feel some of the Thieves’s eyes on his back, but he brushes it off. 

“So, Akechi-kun, what was it you wanted to talk about?” Niijima says once Akechi settles down in his chair. Akira looks over at him briefly, and nods. Akechi nods slightly back, and starts talking.

“As most of you have likely already realized, the Thieves are going to get blamed for both Okumura and Kobayakawa. Some of the outrage will be real, but most of the initial discussion will be manufactured-”

“Akechi, someone working with Shido was the one who made the Medjed threat, right?” Sakura-san says, cutting Akechi off. 

“Oh? Yes. I don’t know who exactly, though. Shido has me doing his orders, and I know details about some plans, but I don’t know specific details about people. He probably would have my head if his people had their identities leaked and their hearts started being changed. Shido trusts no one.” 

“That’s what I thought,” Sakura-san mutters, “they seemed to have been messing around with the Phantom Aficionado website too.”

“Correct. Almost all of the excitement, and your incoming fall, have been thought about in advance. Which leads me into what I want to talk about next. Shido’s next plan involves me infiltrating the Phantom Thieves, having them get set up, arresting their leader, and framing his murder as a suicide.” Akechi says. The rest of the Thieves are wide eyed, except Akira, of course, and Sakura-san, who looks like she’s got gears turning in her head. Akira’s got his arms crossed, and his face is blank. 

“Akira? Did you know about this? And how would that even work?” Niijima asks. 

“I did.” Akira says simply. 

“Niijima-san,” Akechi says, “I don’t think you’re going to like this, but I’m supposed to infiltrate a certain person’s Palace with you all.”

“Don’t tell me,” Niijima gasps.

“I’m sorry. Your next target is Sae Niijima.”

“It’s a hit…” Kitagawa says, and Niijima’s face pinches up a bit.

“She has changed a lot ever since our father died, but I didn’t realize that she’s changed so much she’s developed a Palace,” Niijima says, “but still. Is she meant to die?”

“Possibly. But I know that we can prevent Sae-san’s possible death, as well as Akira’s. I assume we’ll need to trick Shido into believing that the threat of the Phantom Thieves has been completely eliminated.” Akechi says, and Akira nods. 

“So you’re saying that Akira needs to fake his death,” Kitagawa says. 

“Indeed,” Akechi says. There’s a bit of dead air, but then Sakamoto looks at his phone.

“Oh, shit! Last train’s coming up soon!” Sakamoto says, and the rest of the Thieves get up.

“Akechi-kun, is there anything else we should worry about that’s coming up in the next few days?” 

“Nothing other than keeping your head down. That would be best,” Akechi says, and the rest of the Thieves make noises of agreement. They all then walk out, aside from Akira and Sakura-san. 

“Akechi, can I ask another question?” she says. 

“Is it about what’s coming up?” Akechi says.

“Yeah. Specifically, the whole Akira faking his death thing.” Akechi turns to Akira. 

“Is it okay if I answer this?” Akechi asks Akira, who nods. He doesn’t seem to be very chatty this evening. 

“Remember when you said that thing about shooting Akira again? Did that relate to all of this?” Sakura-san says, and Akira’s face hardens. Akechi’s about to answer, but Akira does instead. 

“Goro did shoot ‘me’ last time, even if it was just a cognition. The Thieves figured out a plan to keep me alive, by having Goro go into the Metaverse and shoot my cognitive double, but still.” 

“Oh… I wasn’t expecting that,” Sakura-san says, “I’m gonna go home now.” She walks out after Akira waves goodbye. They stand quietly for a bit.

“I was thinking about trying to help you convince Sae-san to assist you in getting out of there.”

“That might work,” Akira says, and then he cracks a strange smile, “We really do have a strange relationship, don’t we.”

“I can’t say I disagree.” 


	65. Chapter 65

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I return.

Akira’s tired of hearing about Phantom Thieves this and Phantom Thieves that. He can tell that the constant chatter is wearing down the rest of the Thieves, too, and the threat of the police isn’t helping. They’ve been buzzing about like flies. Dealing with that, on top of exams, has taken a toll on everyone. Not even Goro’s been safe from getting worn down, as Akira’s been getting a few rambling texts in the evening from him, complaining about lying for TV and Shido. The two of them haven’t been able to spend much time together lately, with Goro having near constant interviews, and Akira trying to keep his head down. The last thing they need right now is to get caught together. Goro might be able to brush it off as “trying to learn more about Shujin Academy” but still, of all people, why the delinquent transfer student that might have ties to the Thieves? Now that Akira thinks about it, it would probably be the perfect cover. But it wouldn’t help Akira’s case and reputation. Plus, if people start thinking that he’s a way to get to be able to talk to Goro, it might end up blowing both of their covers somehow. 

He thankfully doesn’t seem to blow his cover when the police interview him, at least. It goes as well as it did last time, with no new questions as far as he can tell. He does feel bad for the rest of the Thieves, who didn’t know what they were going into with the interrogation. If he had warned them ahead of time, their reactions might not have seemed natural enough. Akira’s not sure how he managed to do all of this last time. Perhaps the lack of knowledge made him worry less. Thinking of all the ways everything could possibly go wrong really isn’t helping him out, and the Thieves have definitely noticed. 

“Hey, Akira, looking so stressed out all the time isn’t going to help, you know,” Morgana says to him. Even with his harsh sounding words, Morgana sounds genuinely concerned. 

“Sorry,” is all he can say.

“Hey, cut the guy some slack!” Ryuji says, and reassuringly pats Akira on the shoulder. 

“I do agree with Morgana that we need to make sure that we don’t appear suspicious, but yes, we all need to cut ourselves some slack. We know some of what’s coming up because of Akechi-kun, but that doesn’t mean we can rest easy,” Makoto says. 

“Right… I’ll try to keep an eye on how the investigation is progressing,” Futaba says. 

“I’m sorry that all of this is happening,” Makoto says, “This is all because of my sister.”

“Makoto, please don’t be sorry! I’m sure there’s a reason why,” Haru says, but she still has that same look of worry. Makoto sighs.

“That reason is probably because of her developing a Palace. She wasn’t like this before,” Makoto says very matter-of-factly, “But anyway, as a precaution, I'm having you second years to join me on the festival committee.” Shit. Akira’s had his head so scrambled up that he’s forgotten about the school festival, of all things. Ryuji’s surprised, but backs off once Makoto explains exactly why she wants them to join. 

“I’ll keep an eye on the investigation into my father,” Haru chimes in.

“And I will try to see if anything unusual begins happening at Kosei, especially since it seems like they’re aware of me,” Yusuke says. 

“So, Makoto, what’re we gonna be doing while we’re pretending to be the festival committee?” Ryuji asks. Makoto snorts.

“Ryuji, don’t think that I’m going to let you get away with not helping. We need to look over the questionnaires regarding the guest of honor for the festival,” Makoto says. Ryuji pouts.

“It’s probably going to be Goro, if I had to guess,” Akira says, and Ann nods.

“I’ve been seeing his face  _ everywhere. _ It’s honestly really creepy, especially with how he seems to be a whole different person whenever he’s doing one of those interviews,” she says. Akira’s mind immediately jumps to Goro’s Detective Prince costume, and he has to hold back a laugh. Considering Goro’s early reveal as the Black Mask, the Phantom Thieves are likely never going to see that outfit. Unless Goro’s going to be a real stickler for keeping the timeline consistent in Sae’s Palace. But Akira doubts that’s going to happen, as he’s also unsure about whether or not Robin Hood’s the only Persona he can summon while in that state. Morgana’s also already seen Goro summon Hereward in Maruki’s Palace, so it’s not like Goro can pass Robin Hood off as a second tier Persona evolution. Ann, Ryuji, Yusuke, and Makoto already have their second tier Personas, so it’s not like it's an unfamiliar concept to the Thieves. 

“You think he’s gonna spill the beans on the Thieves if he gets asked about it?” Ryuji says, and surprisingly, before Akira’s able to say anything, Yusuke jumps in. 

“I doubt he’d get any benefits out of it, Ryuji. He already seems to be aware of just how much the public is being manipulated into believing in our downfall, and I don’t think he wants to add any unnecessary fuel to that fire.” 

“I guess,” Ryuji says.

“Also,” Akira says, “if the crowd gets too close to that topic, I can call him and he can play it off as an important work call he needs to go take care of or something.” Ryuji looks mildly impressed. 

“We don’t know that it’s definitely going to be Akechi-kun yet…” Makoto says, “but we’ll see for sure once we count the votes.” 

“So, student council room tomorrow then, right?” Ann asks, and Makoto nods.

The next day, all the Shujin Thieves sit amongst piles upon piles of ballot cards. There’s a few dissenters, but almost all of them have ‘Goro Akechi’ written on them, to no one’s surprise. Not even Ryuji, who Akira remembers was caught off guard by the result last time. Ryuji’s still not helping them count this time though. Instead, he chooses to once again endlessly read through the news in the corner with Morgana. 

“It’s more of the same,” Ryuji says, “everyone’s thinking we murdered Okumura.” 

“Akechi-kun said that a lot of the people saying this stuff are fake, right?” Haru asks.

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean that people won’t be influenced by it,” Makoto says, and then she shoves the stack of cards away.

“All Akechi-kun, right?” Ann says, and Makoto nods. 

“I don’t see a point in doing any more counting. Akira, do you have his official phone or anything for me to contact him with?” Makoto says. 

“Just use the number that’s in the group chat, and if you want me to I can text him right now just to give him a heads up.”

“Please do,” Makoto says, and Akira shoots off a text to Goro telling him to watch out for a call from Makoto about the festival. No response, he’s probably busy. 

“I’ll tell the others that Akechi-kun’s the pick,” Ann says, and everyone’s phone chimes. Looks like she used the group chat for it. 

“And I think with that, we’re done,” Makoto says, and they all get up to leave. 

Back at Leblanc, Akira walks in on Sojiro leaning against the counter, watching the TV. It’s a recap of one of Goro’s interviews, likely today’s. Akira thinks that Sojiro’s lost in thought, as his stare is blank. Is today the day where he confronts him and Futaba about the calling card? No, that comes a bit later. Unless he’s forgetting, but he’s sure it’s later. 

“-After this conference, Akechi-san announced he will be limiting his media appearances,” the newscaster says, and Sojiro finally turns to look at Akira. 

“That’s a fairly sudden change. Wonder why,” Sojiro says absently, and turns his attention back to his cigarette. Goro never told him why he suddenly took more of a pro-Thieves stance, but that’s almost certainly why he’s limiting his media appearances. Maybe he should ask. It might just be all a script. Or, it could be Goro getting a bit more freedom with his opinions. Who knows. Speaking of Goro…

**Spooky Scary Phantom Thieves**

**6:13 pm**

**Crow: I’m flattered, but not surprised.**

**Crow: Niijima-san, I would appreciate it greatly if you would send me the details.**

**Queen: Oh, right, sorry. I forgot you were in this chat.**

**Crow: It’s fine.**

**Panther: Wait, didn’t you just say that you were going to limit your media appearances??**

**Crow: Consider this a personal favor.**

**Crow: Also, I assume I was the popular vote, correct? Wouldn’t it be a bit strange if I didn’t show without good reason?**

**Crow: Also, considering it’s Shujin, I wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to “investigate.”**

**Skull: i guess**

**Crow: Don’t worry, I won’t say anything incriminating.**

**Crow: If I start to get too close to anything, Akira can call me and interrupt.**

**Skull: dude akira didnt you say that earlier did you tell akechi**

**Joker: i think so**

**Joker: didnt say anything to him though**

**Oracle: weird telepathy between akira and akechi aside i havent been making much progress on looking into things**

**Oracle: i do have some things i want to talk about tomorrow though**

“You talking to someone you like or something?” Sojiro asks.

“Pretty much.”

“Don’t be getting too cocky, kid. Also, you haven’t been causing problems at school, right? I heard about the police showing up at your school.”

“There’s no need to worry about it,” Akira says. Sojiro makes a conflicted face, but goes back to nursing his cigarette. Akira can tell that he’s got nothing more to say, so he goes back upstairs to his room. 

The next day, the Thieves are scattered around the attic. Goro’s here as well, but he stands apart from the main circle, and is instead poking around at some of the things on Akira’s shelf. No one had formally invited him, but he had shown up in the morning for a cup of coffee, and now he’s here.

“So,” Yusuke says, “Makoto, any updates from Niijima-san?” 

“Nothing, sorry. She doesn’t talk to me anymore about it, anyway.” 

“Not surprising,” Goro says from across the room, “she hasn’t been talking to anyone recently.”

“I found out that the code that was used by the person that made the fake Medjed and the code used to hijack the Phan-site were made by the same person, but nothing other than that,” Futaba says plainly. 

“Sounds about right,” Goro says, and then he walks over to the shelves by the stairs to continue looking at Akira’s things. 

“So, going off of what Akechi-kun told us, our next option really has to be taking on Niijima-san’s Palace,” Haru says. 

“I wouldn’t be shocked with how laser focused they seem to be on Shujin, plus with how Yusuke’s name has come up in the investigation, that they likely already suspect us,” Makoto says. Goro doesn’t seem to have any comments on this, and is still shuffling through the shelves. 

“Honestly, I don’t understand why they didn’t cancel the school festival,” Ann says.

“We all know that they seem to care more about their reputation than anything else.” Ryuji says bitterly, and the room goes quiet. 

“How the fuck?” Goro mutters, breaking the silence. He’s looking at something intently on the shelf. 

“Is there something wrong?” Yusuke says. Goro seems to collect himself.

“No, nothing is wrong. Something startled me, that’s all,” Goro says, and he shoves whatever startled him back under something. He’ll have to ask. 

“Oh, Akechi-kun, can I ask you a question?” Makoto says.

“Yeah, what?”

“Why were you in defense of the Thieves in that interview yesterday? Was that part of a script?” Makoto asks.

“No. I felt like being more truthful. Besides, it’s more interesting to leave the public in controversy, and then disappear off the TV for a while. Maybe they’ll learn to think for themselves, for once,” Goro says, as something else on the shelf has caught his interest. 

“Well, I don’t think anything more needs to be talked about,” Ann says, and the rest of the Thieves agree. 

“Just keep yourselves on the down low, okay?” Makoto reminds the group as they leave. Futaba scoops up Morgana, and starts saying something to him, but she’s already down the stairs and too far away to hear. Once everyone else is out, Goro reaches back into the spot on the shelf he was looking at earlier. He yanks out something very familiar looking.

“How do you still have this?” he says, the glove hanging limp in his outstretched hand. Akira’s confused.

“I didn’t even know I had it… Where was it?” Akira says. 

“It was right here,” Goro says, pointing to a somewhat out of the way spot, “but still, how could you have not noticed it?”

“It wasn’t with my stuff when I moved in initially. That’s very bizarre.” 

“If this is more Yaldabaoth fuckery, I swear to god. This better not be some twisted form of a reminder.”

“Or a warning,” Akira adds on, and Goro scowls. 

“I am going to kill that bastard,” Goro says, and after a few more insults, he pulls his phone out of his pocket.

“You got something you need to go to?” Akira asks.

“Yeah, but I’ll see you tomorrow,” Goro says, and then walks out of the attic. 

After school the next day, Akira walks into Leblanc to a familiar sight. Sojiro’s standing behind the counter washing some dishes, his pompous regular has his eyes trained on the screen, and Goro’s got a stupid smirk on his face.

“Welcome home,” Goro says. Akira joins him in making a stupid face.

“Honey, I’m home,” Akira says, and Goro crosses his arms in mock disappointment.

“You’re back awfully late,” Goro says, and Akira walks over to go sit next to him at the counter. Akira sets his bag down out of sight of the other customer. They can’t be having Morgana get spotted. Goro turns to talk to Sojiro.

“So, how’s business been?”

“Take a look around. I would’ve thought you would’ve known with how often you’re here.”

“I suppose,” Goro says, and takes another sip of his coffee.

“How is that Niijima lady doing?” Sojiro asks.

“Unfortunately, I haven’t talked to her in a while. She and I had a… let’s just say it was a difference in opinion.” Sojiro nods, and it seems like Goro wants to say something else. But, he’s interrupted by a rather unwelcome voice from the TV. Shido’s voice drones on and on.

“Tch,” Goro says quietly. His face, while still fakely pleasant for the other customer and Sojiro, is fairly pissed off. 

“Man, that guy is admirable!” the pompous customer says. Goro shakes his head ever so slightly. 

“Admirable, my ass. Shido’s the one in need of reform,” Goro mutters. Akira tries to steer the conversation away from Shido.

“How was your meeting yesterday?” Akira asks.

“More of the same TV stuff. They kept asking why I wanted to take a break and what not. Seems like I’m what’s making most of their money right now.”

“I see. You’re actually taking the break because of…” Akira finishes that sentence in his head. Because of Sae’s Palace.

“Yes.”

“I hope that ends up better than last time. Remember that you’re gonna need to do that trick you did though.”

“Akira, are you really assuming I haven’t been thinking about all of this constantly?”

“Nope, just reminding you.” The two of them talk quietly for a little while. They can’t really talk about too much, with the other customer and Sojiro there, but they make do. Sojiro’s nice enough to put a cup of coffee down in front of Akira, which Akira thanks him for. 

“I’m going to see you tomorrow, right?” Akira says after their conversation dies down.

“Yeah. I might be disguising myself, but I’ll definitely be there.”

“Are you going to eat that spicy takoyaki again?” 

“Did you really have to remind me of it?”

“Of course.”


	66. Chapter 66

Akechi walks through the Shujin Academy festival. He’s feeling like a fish out of water all over again, with all the hubbub going on around him. Showing up here early was a mistake, as it brings in even more chances that someone will try to talk to him. But he doesn’t know what he was expecting. Of course people recognize him. 

“Akechi-san? Is that you?” one girl says to him as he walks around aimlessly. She’s behind him, so he has time to plaster on his friendly face.

“Oh, yes? Do you need something?” he says as he turns around. Two girls are standing there, and one of them’s bright red. Akechi gives her a nice smile, and her hands fly up to hide her face. The other girl nudges her, and she tries to collect herself. She’s still blushing and nervous though. 

“Can… Can I get a picture, please?” she says. She’s more polite than some of the others he’s dealt with, so he agrees. Once she takes the picture, she and her friend rush off. On a scale from 1 to no one trying to talk to him, that was about a 7. Akechi heads to a quiet corner himself once they’re out of sight. He doesn’t know when Akira and the rest of the Thieves are going to be here, but he’d rather be with them than just wandering around. He takes his phone out to text Akira, but puts it away when he realizes that Akira’s probably going to make him eat that takoyaki again. Maybe he should try delaying that. He doesn’t know the layout of Shujin well, but he eventually makes his way out of the main building and into a small covered courtyard. There’s a couple of vending machines here, which Akechi looks in. If Akira’s going to force him to eat that, he might as well be prepared. He supposes it’s only fair after he and the twins pressured him into doing the Big Bang Challenge. There isn’t milk in this vending machine, but there is milk tea, which should work well enough. He pays, takes it out of the vending machine, and walks out of the courtyard. Akira and the Thieves have to be here by now. Akechi pulls off to the side again to text Akira, asking him if he’s here. He is, so he starts making his way back into the main school building. 

“Are you Akechi-san?” an unpleasantly familiar voice says from behind him. Akechi stops dead in his tracks. It truly has been a while, Dr. Maruki, he wants to say. Instead, he turns around, putting on the face he uses with adults like him. 

“I am. Is there something you need from me?” Akechi says neutrally. Akira hasn’t said anything about him remembering, so he needs to treat him as normally as possible. If he comes into this conversation guns blazing and angry, it’ll be suspicious. Akechi doesn’t exactly know how Maruki’s Persona works, so it’s best to play it safe. From what he understands, it’s still in its Adam Kadmon form with the ability to change cognition, as Sumire’s thinking that she’s Kasumi. It’s nothing he wants to mess around with.

“Oh! No, no, no. I just wanted to say hello. Um, I didn’t think you were the kind of person that would like drinking milk tea. I’m Dr. Maruki, by the way. I work here as the counselor.” 

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m not a big fan of it, but it’s the closest thing to milk I’m going to get. One of my,” he isn’t sure what he should be calling Akira in front of Maruki, “friends has challenged me to eat some very spicy food. I thought it would be best to be prepared.” 

“Are you friends with some Shujin students? I’m not exactly surprised with all of what’s going on. Best to be informed, right?”

“Indeed.”

“If you’re okay with me asking, who’s the friend you were talking about?” Akechi thinks about this momentarily. Considering that it seems like Maruki found out about them some other way last time, it can’t hurt to tell the truth.

“Do you happen to know an Akira Kurusu?” Akechi says. Maruki looks surprised.

“Wait, but he’s- oh, pardon me. Just got a little side tracked. I know him as well. He’s quite the strange and wonderful young man, isn’t he?”

“Truly.”

“You should probably get going, then,” Maruki says with a friendly smile. Akechi nods, and quickly hurries off. It feels like he can finally breathe again. This Maruki might be the “real,” uncorrupted Maruki, but he still feels disconcerted around him. He walks back inside, and walks through the halls of Shujin with purpose, through areas where the crowds are thinned out. Finally, he makes his way to the empty takoyaki stand, and enters the classroom. The Thieves are loosely circled around a few desks pushed together, and there’s the basket of takoyaki on the corner of the table. 

“Oh, Akechi-kun? I didn’t realize you’d be coming today,” Okumura-san says. 

“I felt like there might be some worth in coming to look around before tomorrow, and Akira asked me to, anyway,” Akechi says. Speaking of Akira, he’s eyeing both Akechi and the takoyaki, looking back and forth between them. He then looks down at Akechi’s gloved hand, which is holding the bottle of milk tea.

“I see your game here, Trickster,” Akira says, “Are you going to eat that or not? It does look pretty spicy.” Some of the other Thieves, sans Futaba, look very confused. 

“I see that you’re all confused. Akira’s been hogging me to eat something very spicy after I essentially peer pressured him into doing the Big Bang Challenge. This,” Akechi holds his tea up, “is so I don’t completely die here in public. Does anyone want it though?” Okumura-san puts a hand on her chin.

“I do want some of it. Why don’t we split it, Akechi-kun?” Okumura-san says, and Niijima’s eyes bug out.

“Don’t tell me you’re going to eat it…” Niijima says, but Okumura-san is already attempting to saw it in half with the toothpick. Once she’s satisfied with that, she plucks one of the halves out of the basket. Akechi hesitantly reaches out for it, and grabs the other half. Now or never. He shoves it in his mouth, and already feels like he’s dying. He chews it quickly, swallows it, and then starts chugging his tea. Akira’s got that same look he had when Akechi made that godforsaken pancake comment. However, Okumura-san’s still working on hers.

“This could be a bit spicier,” Okumura-san says.

“Either Akechi can’t handle spice, or Haru’s got some  _ serious _ tolerance,” Sakamoto says in awe. The tea is definitely helping though, as he definitely doesn’t feel the need to run off to the bathroom this time. He tries to gather himself as best as he can, and goes to grab another chair. There isn’t any space next to Akira, so he puts the chair down between Sakamoto and Kitagawa. As he sits down, he hears the sound of snapping chains, and sees that the Empress has ranked up. Why, of all things, did this have to be what ranked it up? 

“So, Goro, how was it?” Akira says mischievously. Akechi glares at him. 

“Akira, I really, truly hate you sometimes,” Akechi says.

“Love you too,” Akira says, and Akechi flips him off. Takamaki’s smiling strangely, but she pulls an intentionally aloof face once she notices Akechi looking. Kitagawa leans forward. 

“Unrelated, but would any of you know where I could find your counselor? I would like to speak to him,” Kitagawa asks. 

“Oh, you mean Dr. Maruki, right? I thought I had seen him somewhere,” Takamaki says. Akechi takes another swig of his tea. His mouth is still burning somewhat, but it’s not that bad. 

“I ran into him earlier in that courtyard thing,” Akechi says. Maybe there’s something off in his voice, but Akira gives him a concerned side eye. 

“Then I will head there once I get a chance! I had already prepared a gift, anyway,” Kitagawa says. Kitagawa then reaches for one of the takoyaki, and then the Thieves’s attention turns back to the takoyaki, passing the basket back and forth to each other. Akira takes one, but he brushes some of the flavoring off of it, and sneaks it into his bag. Must have been for Morgana. 

“Should we walk around some more?” Niijima says once they’re finished. Akechi finally feels fine. He’s out of tea, anyway, so if he still felt bad he would need to go back to the vending machine. The Thieves get up out of their chairs. Akechi waits for a little bit. He’s not sure if he’s waiting for someone to say that it’s okay for him to follow, or that he wants to distance himself from the group in order to not draw attention. Most of the Thieves have made their way out the door, but Akira stays behind.

“Do you want to come with us or not?” Akira asks. Akechi nods, and walks out next to Akira.

“Don’t be surprised if people try to talk to me,” Akechi leans over and says to Akira. 

“I wouldn’t be surprised if they get scared off by me,” Akira says, and then laughs. 

“What’re you two laughing about back there?” Sakamoto says. Akira winks. 

“Just about how I’m the scary scary transfer student that’s done some nasty crime boy things,” Akira says, and Sakamoto sighs. 

“I don’t understand how anyone could be scared of you,” Sakamoto says, “you’re a pretty unthreatening dude.”

“Rumors are very powerful,” Akechi says. 

“Eh, I’m old news at this point anyway,” Akira shrugs. They keep walking for a while, and stop every so often to look at the various stands. Eventually, it happens.

“Wait, that’s Akechi-san over there, right?”

“Yeah, but, isn’t that  _ that _ transfer student?” 

“What’s someone like him doing with Akechi-kun? Shit, he’s looking at us!” Akechi looks over at Akira, who’s giving that group of people a pointed stare. They’re still looking at them slack-jawed, but seem to be frozen. They make no effort to flee from the group of Thieves, or Akira. 

“See, Goro. I told you that people get scared by me,” Akira says, flashing another one of his trademark smirks. 

“Wait, did he just use just his first name? Do those two know each other or something?” one of the people says. They’re trying to be quiet, but miserably failing. Niijima sighs, and pinches the bridge of her nose. Akechi turns towards the group of students.

“We do know each other. Him and I have had quite the rivalry, but he’s been very helpful, and is nothing like whatever strange reputation he has,” Akechi says, and then turns back to the Thieves. Akira smiles dumbly, and Akechi frowns at him in mock annoyance. 

“Maybe he might not be so bad after all…” one of the people says. Akira makes a small gesture, and the Thieves start moving away from that group of students, who are still talking amongst themselves. Akechi shakes his head.

“Look at them, changing their opinions at the drop of a hat just because someone tells them something.”

“I mean, some people seem to think you’re some kind of messiah or something from what I’ve seen,” Sakura-san says. Akechi snorts.

“Interesting choice of words there, Sakura-san,” Akechi says. Akira has a strange look on his face, but he quickly returns to his usual expression. But Akechi’s almost certain he knows what just went through Akira’s head. Yaldabaoth’s using Akechi like that. Akechi's his own personal little messenger of Shido, who's Yaldabaoth's messenger. Despicable. 

“So, what else do you all want to do?” Niijima says.

“I’d be fine with stopping here. Tomorrow is going to be very busy, right?” Okumura-san says.

“Oh right. Gotta make sure Akechi here doesn’t slip up,” Sakamoto says. Akechi rolls his eyes, but Akira laughs again, and pats Akechi on the back.

“It’s fine. I’ll keep him in line,” Akira says. After that, they all start to walk out of the school, and at some point, Kitagawa disappears from the group. Must’ve gone to go talk to Maruki. 

“So, we’ll be seeing each other tomorrow, yes?” Akechi says, and they all nod. They all scatter, leaving Akira, Morgana, Sakura-san, and himself standing there. 

“You ready for tomorrow?” Akira asks. 

“Yes, but now since there are people here that know about us, I’m going to assume I’m going to get at least one question about that,” Akechi sighs.

“You did kind of bring that one on yourself, though,” Sakura-san says.

“Yeah, I know,” Akechi says with a bit too much annoyance, “I don’t like it when people try to pry into my personal life, though. If I gave any indication about us being any closer than just friends, you know that the tabloids would be on fire with speculation for the next five months.” 

“Fair point,” Sakura-san says.

“We should all get going. All of us should be rested for tomorrow,” Akira says, and Akechi agrees.

Later, when he’s scrolling through his social media feed, a post about him pops up. It seems like him visiting Shujin has made it onto social media, and people are really starting to talk about it. This post, however, is a stylized drawing of himself in a Shujin uniform. It always feels strange whenever any of his fans do things like this. He knows he should be enjoying the attention, but it all feels like an obsession he wants no part of. The drawing’s pretty good though. 

**October 25, 20XX**

**9:49 pm**

**Crow: Sent an Image.**

**Joker: not a bad look**

**Joker: the black turtleneck definitely fits you**

**Crow: Flattering.**

**Crow: It does feel odd seeing “fan art” of yourself.**

**Joker: i can imagine**

**Joker: now go to bed**

**Joker: big things happening tomorrow**

**Crow: Okay, Morgana.**

**Joker: wait shit one more thing**

**Crow: Yes?**

**Joker: i think sojiro finds us out tomorrow**

**Crow: That sounds fun.**

**Crow: Tell me what happens.**

**Joker: will do :)**

**Joker: night**

**Crow: Good night.**


	67. Chapter 67

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Royal trio be like: I will defeat you with the power of friendship and this gun I just found.

Akira casually leans on the railing of the balcony, the metal digging harshly into one of his elbows. His other hand is wrapped around his phone, just in case. Ryuji’s also leaning against the railing, and Ann’s standing to Akira’s left. Yusuke’s lurking in the back behind them. From where they’re standing, he can easily see Goro and Makoto on-stage, and with some looking, he spots Haru and Futaba in the audience. 

“Man, whaddya think he’s going to talk about? Makoto made some questions, right?” Ryuji says. 

“I talked with him earlier,” Akira says, “apparently him and Makoto made a plan to open with audience questions first, and then she has some generic questions about the investigation into the Thieves.” There’s no need to press Goro about anything this time, so theoretically, they shouldn’t end up veering too close to the truth. However, Goro himself asked him to make sure that he absolutely doesn’t say anything too suspicious. Apparently, that phone call last time was just lucky timing, and Goro’s not sure if he’s going to be getting it again or not. He did also apparently have a timer set to go off, but that wasn’t going to go off until later. That won’t be necessary, this time. There isn’t a need for Goro to tell them about Sae, as he already has. 

“I’ll be doing this hand signal,” Goro said to him as he pulled one of his gloves off, “if I think I’m getting too personal or if the questions are getting too nosy about your identities.” 

“What are you going to do if someone asks about me? I wouldn’t be too shocked if your little thing you said about me yesterday has already made the rounds.” Akira had asked. 

“I won’t say the full truth about anything here. You and I both don’t want tabloids breathing down our necks,” Goro had said. So, now Akira has to watch for that. For now, though, Goro has both of his hands resting on the podium. 

“We will now begin today’s panel. Please welcome our special guest, Goro Akechi.” Makoto’s voice crackles through the auditorium as whoops and cheers burst out of the audience. Goro clears his throat, and Akira mentally preps himself for the wrongness that is Nice Goro Akechi That is Definitely Not Just Acting. 

“I’m quite surprised by the turn out here today. I would have expected you all to pick an idol or a singer or someone!” Goro says, and Akira can feel himself physically cringe. It’s been a while since he’s heard the TV voice in person. The audience all laughs.

“I hate it when he talks like that,” Akira mutters. 

“Same here,” Ryuji says. 

“I wish I had his acting skills… It’s almost like he’s a completely different person!” Ann chimes in, and Yusuke hums in agreement. Morgana pops his head out of Akira’s bag, which is on the ground. Seems like he’s interested now. Morgana had told Akira that he was just going to sleep through this. It might just be too loud in the auditorium to sleep, however. Goro raises both of his hands in the air, and the audience quiets down.

“Akechi-san and I have discussed the format that he would like this panel to be in, and we have decided to start off with questions from the audience, followed by a discussion about the notorious Phantom Thieves,” Makoto says.

“Yes, thank you, Niijima-san. Now, let’s get started! Are there any audience questions?” Goro says, and he’s almost unable to finish his last sentence before hands shoot up in the air, some of them waving frantically in order to be noticed. Makoto begins picking people at random. Some of the questions are painfully generic, such as asking him if he really does like a certain food that he said he liked in a magazine. But Akira supposes he should be thankful for the simple questions.

“Does dealing with the Phantom Thieves take up a lot of time? I can’t imagine not having any free time at all!” a girl in the audience asks. Goro shrugs.

“It is quite a lot of work, but nothing I can’t handle,” Goro says. Makoto’s about to call on someone else, but the same girl’s voice pipes up again.

“Akechi-san, what does someone like you do in their free time? Do you read detective novels?” It’s hard to see Goro’s expressions from here, but he chuckles and shakes his head.

“Oh, it’s nice to have a break from all the detective stuff. So no, I don’t frequently read detective novels. I do enjoy reading, however. But usually, I go for a bike ride, or go to a cafe, or go hang out with some people.”

“He shouldn’t have said that…” Akira mumbles.

“Something wrong?” Ryuji asks.

“Nothing’s wrong, unless someone in the audience is like ‘oh do you go hang out with that transfer student’ or something,” Akira says. 

“Gotcha,” Ryuji says. Their attention is redirected towards someone frantically waving their arm back and forth. They didn’t have their hand raised until now. Makoto looks over at Goro, and some silent communication seems to happen between them. Goro then turns back to the audience.

“You seem rather enthusiastic back there,” Goro says. The person’s hand rockets back down, and they ask their question.

“You’re… You’re friends with  _ that _ transfer student, right?” 

“I am, indeed,” Goro says while nodding. A hushed gasp passes through the room. 

“But- well, he has a record, right? What if he hurts you?” the person says. Akira almost busts out laughing. It’s rather funny, in a dark way. Goro shot him, and Akira beat the shit out of him twice. They’ve already hurt each other more than most people do in a lifetime. And Akira wouldn’t be too surprised if they’re forced to fight each other again. 

“I don’t think I’ll have to worry about that,” Goro says in a sly tone, “and a little danger is fun sometimes, is it not? If I’m expected to deal with the Phantom Thieves, one person with a record shouldn’t be a big deal.” There’s a murmur of understanding that sweeps through the seats. Akira can’t stop himself from laughing this time, and Ann gives him a strange look. 

“What’s so funny? Is it because-”

“Yeah, it’s because of that,” Akira says. Now that Akechi’s successfully redirected back to the topic of the Thieves, the rest of the remaining questions from the audience are regarding that. There’s still plenty of hands in the air, but Makoto transitions over to the generic questions about the investigation. It would be bad if they ran over time. Once Makoto wraps up with her part, they take a few more audience questions. There’s another person waving their hand in the air, almost jumping out of their seat. It catches Makoto’s attention, and they’re next. 

“Akechi-kun, do you remember me? I asked you a question during the time we came to the TV studio,” the girl says. Goro brushes his chin.

“I can’t say I do, exactly. My apologies.”

“I asked if you had a girlfriend or if you were seeing anyone,” she says. Akira watches Goro set his shoulders. It’s a subtle movement, but it’s clear to anyone that knows him that this question annoys him.

“Oh, now I remember you...” Goro says. Akira doesn’t understand how people can’t hear the fake tone in his voice.

“Really? Has it changed though? Are you seeing someone now?” she says. Goro glances up at where Akira’s standing. Akira shrugs.

“I am, in fact. However, I will not be saying who, for their sake.” 

“She must be so lucky…” someone laments in the audience. 

“Yeah, imagine having Akechi-kun all to yourself,” someone else says. 

“I wouldn’t be calling you lucky,” Ryuji mutters. Ann reaches around Akira’s back to flick Ryuji.

“What was that for?!” Ryuji whisper-shouts. Ann shoots him an annoyed look, and Ryuji sighs. Makoto seems to notice the time, and starts wrapping up the panel. Goro looks visibly relieved, even from here. He bows, says his thank yous, grabs his briefcase, and walks off the stage. Akira should get going himself. He beckons to the Thieves that are up here with him, and they go downstairs. On their way down, they run into Futaba and Haru. 

“It was really creepy hearing the people around us talk about Akechi like that,” Futaba says, and Haru nods in agreement. 

“At this point, I’m glad he’s on our side,” Yusuke says. 

“Remember to watch what you’re saying,” Morgana says, popping his head out of the bag. 

“I agree with Morgana,” Goro says from behind Akira. Ryuji jumps.

“Dude! Why do you have to move so quietly?” Ryuji says. 

“Your leader moves more quietly than I do,” Goro says, and Ryuji hangs his head.

“That’s different…” 

“Morgana and Akechi-kun are both right. On another note, what are all of you thinking about doing now?”  
“I was planning to go home,” Yusuke says, and Futaba nods in agreement. 

“Why don’t we all split up for now? There’s some things I’ve been meaning to check out but I don’t want to have you all get burdened by me,” Haru says. 

“You’re not a burden, Haru! I’ll go with you!” Ann says. 

“I have some things I need to wrap up with the student council, so I’ll be doing that. The rest of you should go try to have some fun, though,” Makoto says, and then walks off. 

“Mishima asked me to go hang out with him for a bit,” Ryuji says. The Thieves all seem to have their plans, so they disperse. Goro’s still hanging around him.

“You don’t mind if I walk around with you, right?” Goro says. 

“Of course not. Don’t be surprised if anything weird happens cause of what you were saying, Ace Detective.” Goro scowls.

“At least I thought ahead. Is there a bathroom or something I can change in?” Goro says, and Akira leads him over to one of the bathrooms at the end of the hallway. Thankfully, it’s rather empty, so no one sees Goro go in, and come back out in street clothes. He stands out more now for his lack of school uniform than being Goro Akechi. Hopefully, it works. The two of them and Morgana walk around for a while, with no interruptions. Eventually, it starts getting late, and they walk up to the exit door. 

“I think we’ve seen everything twice at this point,” Goro says. 

“Yeah,” Akira says. The school PA clicking on catches their attention.

“The post-festival party is about to begin in the gym. Please join us!” the voice crackles. 

“Huh? I thought this was over? Why don’t we just go home?” Morgana says. Goro looks like he’s about to say something, but he turns his head to look at someone coming towards Akira.

“Hi, Akira-senpai! Are you going to the- huh? Akechi-san? Is that you?” Sumire says.

“Yes,” Goro says.

“Well, I was going to ask if Akira-senpai was going to the party,” Sumire says, “but I assume you two are busy?”

“Oh, no, it’s fine. Goro, you want to?” Akira asks, and Goro nods.

“I guess I’ll lead the way, then!” Sumire says, and they follow her into the gym. Goro ducks into a shadowed corner, but Sumire drags Akira out up front. Akira watches Goro slink through the crowd, and into another dark spot right near them. The MC announces the Student Sharing Special is going to happen after a special surprise. The lighting changes, and members of the dance team spill out. Akira’s not too excited about the Sharing Special, but he did like watching the dance team and Sumire dance last time. Akira watches Goro retreat farther into the shadow he’s standing in.

“Senpai, aren’t you going to dance?” Sumire asks him. She’s dancing around a little bit. The music is getting to Akira, anyway, and if he wants to be a show off, it’s as good a time as any. He busts a move.

“Very impressive, Senpai!” Sumire says, clapping her hands. She then turns to Goro, who’s somehow managed to almost completely vanish in the spot he’s standing in. 

“Do you not like dancing?” Sumire says to the shadow.

“No, and I certainly don’t like dancing in public. And I don’t know what I’m doing, unlike Akira here,” Goro says. The MC announces a shift in the music, and a couple of members of the dance team walk up to Sumire. They ask her something, and then she leaves with them. Akira retreats into the darkness with Goro.

“Is she going to dance now?” Goro asks.

“Yeah. She’s pretty damn good,” Akira says.

“That’s what I’ve heard. I wouldn’t expect any less from Sumire Yoshizawa.” The lights change once again, focusing on the center of the room. Sumire steps out, and begins her routine. It’s as incredible as it was last time. 

“I see where you’ve learned some of your moves from,” Goro says.

“She is quite the teacher,” Akira says, “I feel like I’m dying every time I work out with her, but hey, I’m a bit more flexible now.” Morgana pops his head out of the bag again.

“Remember that time you tried to do a cartwheel?” Morgana says, and Akira playfully pushes his head back in the bag.

“We aren’t talking about that, Morgana.” 

Sumire finishes up her routine, and she comes back over to him and Goro.

“Whew! That was fun, but I kind of want to go outside. Is that okay?” she asks, and they both follow her out to the walkway area.

“That was superb, Yoshizawa-san,” Goro says once they stop walking. Other compliments about Sumire’s routine are floating around the area. 

“Oh, thank you Akechi-san,” Sumire says, and then she pulls her phone out, “Sorry, I need to go now. My dad is telling me to get home before it gets too late.”

“Be careful,” Akira says.

“I will! I had a lot of fun today!” Sumire says, bows to both of them, and skips off. Both of their phones buzz suddenly.

**Spooky Scary Phantom Thieves**

**8:56 pm**

**Queen: Would anyone like to come to the rest of the party with me?**

**Queen: People keep hounding me about Akechi-kun and asking me questions.**

**Noir: Ann and I are still here!**

**Noir: We’ll come meet up with you.**

**Skull: mishima n I are also here were in the gym already**

**Joker: goro and i are also here but i think thats gonna attract some attention**

**Crow: The disguise has been working.**

**Joker: yeah but you also hid in a corner**

**Crow: :|**

**Joker: if you want us to come we can meet you in the gym**

**Queen: If you want to.**

“I don’t think it’s a super good idea, but I won’t stop you if you want us to go,” Goro says. Akira debates in his head. If he doesn’t go, he might put his friends at risk for getting called on by the MC, but if he does, he just knows he’s going to get grilled about his relationship with Goro.

“Sure, why not,” Akira says, and instantly regrets it, but Goro’s already moving in the direction back towards the gym. They hurry past a few students who seem to do a double take, but they don’t say anything. 

“Hey,” Ryuji says to them once they make it back into the gym. Mishima’s with him too, but he doesn’t seem to notice Goro’s presence, as he’s melted himself back into the shadows. Haru, Ann, and Makoto show up shortly afterward. 

“Did Akechi-kun leave?” Ann asks as she looks around the group.

“I’m right here,” Goro mutters, and Mishima just about runs out of the room.

“G-Goro Akechi? Why- I mean- sorry- shit-” Mishima says, and Goro audibly sighs. The MC taps the microphone, and starts off the Student Sharing Special. He surveys the crowd, looking for anyone willing to say anything. 

“No one? I’ll just pick someone then!” he says, and his eyes zero in on the group of Thieves. 

“Is he really looking at us?” Ryuji groans. Goro pulls his hood up over his head, and fully disappears into the shadow he’s in.

“There’s quite an interesting group over there! The student council prez, our favorite transfer student, a delinquent, and someone I can’t quite see! My, my, who should I pick! Hmmmm, we heard quite a lot about Akira Kurusu-kun from our special guest today, so why don’t we call on him!” Akira sighs, and feels someone jab at his calf. He looks down to see Goro sitting on the floor and smirking.

“I told you this was a bad idea. Have fun.” 

“I know, I know,” Akira says, and walks up to the stage. The MC waits expectantly for him to say something. 

“Got nothing? Well, why don’t you tell us about you and Akechi-san!” the MC says after a few seconds of dead air. 

“Oh, well, Goro and I talk rather frequently-”

“Wow, you two are on a first name basis! Say, do you happen to know the girl he’s seeing?” Akira bites his tongue.

“No clue. I never felt a need to ask about it. It’s his business, anyway,” Akira says, lying through his teeth. The MC looks disappointed. 

“Well, is there anything interesting about him you want to share?” Akira racks his brain, and his mind immediately jumps to yesterday.

“He absolutely  _ hates _ spicy food! I made him eat some in revenge for him making me take the Big Bang Challenge, and I can tell you he was not having it.”

“You took the Big Bang Challenge?”

“And I won’t ever again,” Akira’s glad that, from his time being Joker, he’s learned a bit of showmanship. The MC seems satisfied. 

“Well, thank you, Kurusu-kun. Who else wants to share something?” Akira departs from the stage, and makes his way back over to the group. Goro’s standing back up again, and Mishima’s saying something to him. 

“Is it someone from here and that’s why you’re not telling us?” Mishima says. Goro stares at him. Ann looks like she’s suppressing something, either a laugh or a groan, Akira can’t tell, and the rest are watching Mishima warily. 

“Something like that,” Akira sweeps into the conversation, “we should get going before they make us say anything else.” 

“Agreed,” Makoto says, “you talking about the Big Bang Challenge reminded me of having to see you do that. I was genuinely concerned.” Makoto talking covers up the sound of Mishima stammering, but he eventually collects himself.

“Wait, don’t tell me. Kurusu-kun- no, no way,” Mishima says, and Goro turns to look back at him.

“Did you really sleep through everything during the Hawaii trip?” Goro says, and it seems like it finally clicks for Mishima. 

“But you’re- don’t you two hate each other?” Mishima says. Ryuji, surprisingly, laughs. 

“I don't think they'd be so clingy if they hated each other,” Ryuji says, and Goro shoots him a glare. Akira nudges him, and Goro’s face returns to its resting scowl. 

“We really should get going,” Akira drops his voice to whisper to Goro, “On another note, I think it might be beneficial if you come to Leblanc.”

“Why?”

“It could help clarify some things.”

“I see. Let’s go.”


	68. Chapter 68

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Listening to Freedom and Security while writing this chapter was rather interesting.

Akechi follows Akira down the alleyway to Leblanc. It’s as silent as ever, with only their quiet footsteps and muffled chatter coming out of some of the buildings disturbing it. They’re almost to Leblanc when Akira stops them.

“I don’t think it’ll be good if you come in right now,” Akira whispers to Akechi.

“Akira, what did you say?” Morgana meows, but instead of responding, Akira pulls out his phone. Seconds later, Akechi feels his phone buzzing against his leg. Akechi instantly understands what his intentions are.

“If I hang up, come in,” Akira says. Akechi nods, and Akira walks over to talk to Sakura-san. Akechi can hear perfectly, and he ducks into a dark spot to stand. 

“I was thinking about going inside, so good timing,” Sakura-san says.

“Why’re you sitting out here?” Akira says. 

“I needed to clear my head,” she says, and then Akechi watches them walk into Leblanc. There’s a bit of scuffling, and then Sakura-san greets Sojiro-san. No response from Sojiro-san. Akechi tries to shuffle his way into a spot that’s still concealed from view, but can see into Leblanc. He thinks he’s successful, and peers into the cafe through the door. Akira’s blocking most of his view, but by some stroke of luck, he moves aside. Sojiro-san turns towards the two of them standing there, and holds up something. It’s red and rectangular. Must be a calling card, then. 

“When I was cleaning up, I found this,” Sojiro-san’s voice says through the phone. Someone gasps, likely Sakura-san. Sojiro-san then asks if it’s really a calling card, confirming Akechi’s theory. 

“Why- why’d you go into my room! You always ask for permission!” Sakura-san says.

“I’ll apologize as much as you want later. So, can you explain what this is?” Sojiro-san says. Akechi’s almost surprised by the bite in his voice. He knows Sojiro-san can be a bit brash, but this is new. Then again, the most he’s interacted with him has been light conversation while he was ordering his coffee.

“Um…” Akechi hears Sakura-san stuttering. 

“This shouldn’t be something you’re getting freaked out by. Explain!” Sojiro-san says. Akechi continues to hear Sakura-san stutter. Akira moves again, this time closer to Sakura-san.

“I’ll explain everything,” Akira says, and from what Akechi can see, Sojiro-san’s got a fairly bemused look on his face. He’s glad he’s not in the room right now. 

“Akira, I’m trying to talk to Futaba right now,” Sojiro-san says, and then turns back to Sakura-san, “I’ll be frank. Did they cause a ‘change of heart’ in you?” Akechi can hear crying. Sojiro-san tries pressuring Sakura-san one more time, and then she starts talking.

“Ever since… mom died…” Akechi clenches his hand around his phone. He doesn’t want to keep listening. He should have never let himself get ensnared by Shido. He could have stopped himself, said no, and didn’t kill someone. He’d be killed, most likely, but that would be an easy price to pay. How many other people has he indirectly hurt? He drops the hand with his phone in it down to his side, and lets his head roll back and hit the wall behind him. He can still hear the murmuring coming from his phone. 

“Phantom Thieves… saved me… changed… cognition,” Sakura-san says. Akechi finally pries his head off of the wall, and looks back into Leblanc. They’ve moved out of his line of sight, presumably to a booth. Akechi takes a deep breath. For Akira’s sake, he reminds himself. Akira asked you to listen. He holds the phone back up to his ear. 

“I used to work in the government,” Sojiro-san says, “I worked as the liaison between Wakaba and other government offices. That’s how I got to know her. Still, though, she did tell me one time that she might die a bizarre death.” Akechi feels sick again. If Akira tells him to come in here now, he might end up having to excuse himself to the bathroom. He puts the phone back to his ear. 

“You knew about this calling card, right? Is there some sort of connection between you and them? First it was that teacher, and then you’re friends with that painter’s student, and now Futaba.”

“You’re sharp,” Akira says, and Sojiro-san snaps at him. 

“You know what people are calling them? Criminals. This isn’t just some game! And why would you drag Futaba into this?” 

“I asked them! Akira stole my heart and saved me!” Sakura-san cuts him off. 

“Wait- so- he’s not just involved with the Thieves, he’s actually a phantom thief?” Sojiro-san sputters. 

“I’m a phantom thief,” Akira says. 

“What the hell… so I’ve had a phantom thief up in my attic for the past six months, and Futaba’s involved too…” Sojiro-san says, almost too quietly to hear, but his voice snaps back to seriousness, “Why are you always bringing that detective kid around, then? If you’re truly continuing on with this Phantom Thief nonsense, then-” the phone hangs up. Guess that’s his cue. He shoves his phone back into the front pocket of his hoodie. He’s a bit glad he’s still wearing his street clothes disguise. Busting down the door as Ace Detective Goro Akechi could be more jarring than necessary. He opens the door, and Sojiro-san immediately shouts that the cafe’s closed. 

“Good timing, Goro,” he hears Akira say, and Sojiro-san’s befuddled. Akechi notices that the calling card’s sitting on the table in front of Sojiro-san now. Akechi needs to figure out a way to signal to Sojiro-san that he knows in a casual way, fast. 

“That’s the calling card that you sent to her, right?” Akechi says, and Akira nods. Sojiro-san looks back and forth between them, and Sakura-san seems to have taken Sojiro-san’s confused look from him due to Akechi's sudden appearance. 

“You… You’re actually Goro Akechi, right? I thought that you were about as anti-phantom thief as they could get, right?” Sojiro-san says. Akechi sighs.

“I am. But almost everything I say on TV is a lie, after all. I don’t hate the Thieves. Some of them get on my nerves from time to time, but I don’t hate them.” 

“He’s known since the beginning,” Sakura-san says, suddenly jumping to his defense, “Plus, he knows about who stole mom’s research and who killed her!” Akechi is very, very thankful for her choice of words. Sojiro looks deeply conflicted, and then he heaves a deep sigh.

“I do suppose I remember thinking that there was something wrong about her death. But all I could really do was run away, and take you in,” Sojiro-san says, and Akechi kind of zones out. He doesn’t deal well with this kind of family stuff. 

“You’re not pathetic,” Akira says, pulling Akechi back to reality. Sojiro-san keeps talking, so Akechi almost goes back into la la land, but he notices Sojiro-san turn to him. 

“Futaba said you know about what happened to Wakaba. Are… Are the same people that caused that interested in going after the Phantom Thieves?” Akechi nods slowly.

“You have a history of government work, correct? Does the name Masayoshi Shido mean anything to you?” Akechi says. He’s going to have to tread very lightly. 

“Shido… he’s the guy running for Prime- wait. Now that I think about it, I remember Wakaba saying something about him. I can’t remember exactly, though.” Sojiro-san says.

“Him and his cronies have a vested interest in making sure they’re the only ones with access to cognitive psience research. They see the Phantom Thieves as a threat to that. I’m trying my best to protect the Thieves from them.” Akechi says. Sojiro-san visibly slumps.

“Sheesh… You two,” he says, pointing to Akira and Sakura-san, “whatever you do, back out of any fights you can’t win. Please. And you, Akechi-kun, if you really are helping them, keep yourself safe too,” Sojiro-san says, and gets up out of the seat. 

“Sojiro? What are you doing?” Sakura-san says. 

“We’re done talking about this. You guys need dinner, right? Sojiro says from the kitchen area. Akechi doesn’t know what to do with himself now. He really feels like he’s imposing. As he’s about to turn around and walk out, Akira jerks his head and gestures to Akechi to sit in the booth. So he does. As he sits down, he remembers a favor that he was going to ask Sakura-san to do. He brought his other phone for a reason. 

The mood is awkward, especially since Sakura-san’s flopped herself forward on the table. She did say she was tired. Morgana starts talking and breaks the silence.

“Thank god he’s not going to turn us in, but we should still tell the others, yes?” 

“Yeah,” Akira says. He looks tired, too. Sojiro-san’s done with making the curry, and he brings out three plates. He drops one in front of Akechi. Akechi’s not going to complain about being given curry, but it’s an unusual feeling.

“Thank you,” Akechi says. Sakura-san’s scarfing hers down, and Akira’s taking a more measured pace, but is still eating fast. Akechi’s lost a lot of his appetite from the whole Wakaba discussion, but he’s still hungry. After they finish up, Akechi thanks him again, and Akira and Sakura-san walk upstairs. Akechi goes to follow them, but Sojiro-san stops him.

“Wait,” Sojiro-san says, and Akechi turns to look at him.

“Yes?”

“Let me be blunt. I don’t exactly trust you. If your ultimate goal here is to sell out the Phantom Thieves, you need to leave now.” Sojiro-san says.

“I understand your concern,” Akechi says, carefully measuring his tone, “but Akira and I have the same goal here. A goal which I am willing to die for. And besides, Akira’s already fought me at my full strength and won.” He already “died” in Shido’s Palace once. Well, he either survived or died. It’s all fuzzy. He knows he was alive outside of Maruki’s reality for the couple months after they defeated Maruki. It’s a headache to think about. 

“Is there a chance of Akira or Futaba dying if you all continue down this path?” Sojiro-san asks. 

“The risk of all of us dying is far greater if we leave Shido to continue doing what he’s doing than if we change his heart. I know for a fact that someone is going to ‘take care of me’ once he rises to power, and it won’t take much for them to figure out the identities of the Thieves without me there,” Akechi says in a bitter tone. Sojiro-san’s clenching his jaw, but he looks Akechi in the eye. 

“Keep them safe, then. That’s all I ask.” 

“I’ll try my best,” Akechi says, and then Sojiro shoos him upstairs. 

Upstairs, Morgana’s sitting by his usual spot next to the staircase, and is talking to Akira and Sakura-san. Sakura-san’s standing in between Akira’s bed and the work desk, and Akira’s sitting on his bed. 

“Did the boss lecture you about something?” Akira asks.

“Something like that,” Akechi says. Sakura-san’s staring at him. Right, he needs to ask her for that favor. Akechi walks over to her slowly. 

“Need something?” she asks.

“Can you do me a favor?” Akechi says, holding the phone out in front of him. It’s not the one he usually uses.

“What is it?”

“Can you bug this phone?” Sakura-san gives him a strange look.

“Of course I can! But, why would you want to bug your own phone?” she says, taking the phone from his hands.

“Well, I can’t exactly steal Shido’s, so this is the next best option.” 

“Oh… I see. Tomorrow, though. I think I’m gonna go home.” Sakura-san puts the phone in her pocket, and walks past Akechi to go downstairs. 

“I told the group about Sojiro knowing,” Akira says, “things are really heating up now, aren’t they?”

“Yes. Speaking of that, there’s that bounty going out tomorrow.” 

“Great,” Akira shakes his head, “When do you want to go to Sae’s Palace?” 

“Not tomorrow, I can say that.” Akechi says. He’s pretty tired himself. 

“Yeah, I know the rest of the Thieves aren’t going to react well to the bounty announcement. I need some time to stock up on stuff, anyway.” 

“It’s your call anyway, Leader.” 


	69. Chapter 69

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my dearly beloved readers: where is the smooch, yikes?  
> me: it is coming i promise but probably not how you expect it
> 
> Also, sorry for disappearing for a few days, I've been pretty unfocused. Chapter updates will also be less frequent, as school is a thing that exists.

“Akira. Wake up already,” someone says, and lightly pats his face. 

“Five more minutes,” Akira mumbles, and rolls over. It feels a lot earlier than when he usually wakes up. The person, who he has now suddenly realized is Goro, sighs.

“You do realize you’re still in your school uniform, right?” he says. Oh shit, he is. Did he really fall asleep like this? How long were they talking? How long has he been sleeping? Speaking of that, how long has Goro been sleeping? And when did he wake up? Akira feels Goro sit down on the side of his bed. Akira sits up. Goro’s tired looking again, and he’s got two glasses of water. 

“Are you okay? Also, what time is it?” Akira says. Goro sighs, and hands him one of the glasses he’s holding. 

“So, I’m guessing he only fucked with me, this time,” Goro says, checking his phone, “it’s 2 in the morning.” 

“Did he threaten you or me again?” Akira asks. Goro shakes his head. Unsurprising, because he doesn’t look nearly as roughed up as he does when Yaldabaoth decides to get after them. 

“No. He looked like Igor this time, and even the girls were there. He told me he had some gifts to give me. I guess he’s realized now that killing ‘you’ in front of me isn’t getting to me in the way he wants it to,” Akechi says derisively, and sips his water. 

“What’d he give you?” Akira asks. He wants to go change into his sleep clothes. Goro probably isn’t going to go back to sleep, and Akira would rather be in those than wrinkling his uniform. Goro’s got that spaced-out look that indicates he’s looking at something in his own mind. Suddenly, he snaps back to reality, and looks over at Akira.

“Well, it looks like I can have 12 Personas now,” Goro says, “But there was one other thing he mentioned that I haven’t quite figured out yet.” 

“What’s that?”

“He called it a ‘thief’s skill,’ and that it’ll help in the Metaverse. I don’t remember what else he said, because I wasn’t paying attention to him. Caroline did get mad at me, though,” Goro laughs at his last sentence. Akira’s glad he’s almost certain he knows what Goro’s talking about.

“Did he say anything about a ‘third eye?’ Cause if that’s the case, I’m honestly surprised you didn’t have it earlier,” Akira says. 

“Now that you mention it, I think he did say that. Are you telling me you already have this?”  
“Have since the beginning.”  
“Typical,” Goro scoffs, “He really thinks that giving me basic things is going to win him any favors. If he’s truly a god of control, at this rate he should have realized what actually works on me.”

“What, you want him to serve you coffee and curry and let you use him as a pillow?” Akira teases.

“Dear god, don’t give him any ideas,” Goro says, “speaking of which, I don’t feel like sleeping.”

“I get it, I get it. I’m gonna change out of this,” Akira says, and Goro goes downstairs. Before Akira goes to grab his other clothes, he stops by the foot of his bed, where Morgana is sound asleep. Akira really hopes that he hasn’t heard too much about the Yaldabaoth situation. Who knows what memories of his could be awoken by it? Akira remembers his suggestion to go to the Depths of Mementos being somewhat out of the blue, and if that realization is triggered in Morgana any earlier, Morgana might try to drag them down there early. Akira can explain away knowing how bad Shido’s Palace is, as he can pretend he went there with Goro to check things out, but if he tries to stop them from going to the Depths, he won’t be able to explain why he knows that it’ll be too dangerous for them. Then again, the doors through Mementos probably won’t let them get down that far. Unless they bring Goro with them. That’s what Yaldabaoth probably wants them to exploit. He should probably stop thinking about this now. Akira quickly changes, and heads downstairs. 

“Did you fall asleep again? I was almost concerned,” Goro says. He’s already seated in his usual spot. Akira goes to grab his apron.

“No, just got lost in my own thoughts,” Akira says as he rummages through the fridge. Thankfully, there’s left over curry ingredients. He’ll need to tell Sojiro to buy some more, though. 

“So, when you’re using this third eye thing, are there supposed to be cards floating over people’s heads?” Goro says. 

“Only confidants,” Akira says. Goro nods. They don’t talk too much for a little while, as Akira’s focused on cooking. It’s nice. Akira really hopes that Futaba isn’t awake and listening in, though. There’s a chance that she’s up, as she might be working on that bug for Goro’s phone. Speaking of that…

“Why’d you ask Futaba to bug your phone, anyway?” Akira asks.

“Oh, that? I just wanted a way to log what Shido says to me. I’m going to tell him that my normal number got leaked,” Goro says. That makes sense. Akira’s done making the curry, so he lets it simmer, and starts working on the coffee. 

“Should I turn the TV on? They’ve probably sent the bounty out by now, right?” Akira asks, and instead of answering, Goro gets up. He turns on the TV, sets it to a news station, and sits back down. It’s mostly just reruns of last night’s news, which is good background noise for Akira as he plates the curry. It must be odd for anyone who’s walking by at this hour, if on the off chance they decide to glance in. It’s also a Thursday morning, and Akira’s not sure how many people are out and about at 3 am on a Thursday. 

They sit watching the TV for a while, with the only interruptions being the sounds of silverware clinking, and Goro jumping for the remote any time his name is remotely mentioned. It’s funny, but understandable. After an hour or so, the news starts repeating, and Akira and Goro start talking. It’s not about anything particularly interesting, it’s just there to fill the silence. Another hour passes, and they’re both startled by Sojiro opening the door.

“What- How long have you two been up? Don’t tell me you didn’t sleep,” Sojiro says. 

“We just both happened to wake up at around 3:30, and couldn’t go back to sleep. Our apologies if we’ve made a mess,” Goro says.

“Oh, also I used up the rest of the ingredients in the fridge,” Akira says, and Sojiro sighs. 

“It’s alright. I was just a little surprised, that’s all,” Sojiro says, and walks behind the counter. Bless you, Sojiro. As Sojiro walks by, he takes back the TV remote, and unmutes the TV. It’s about time for the morning news to begin anyway. 

“Does Akira ever help you out around the shop?” Goro asks Sojiro. Goro had said something yesterday about getting lectured by Sojiro, but didn’t further elaborate. Maybe he’s just trying to be a friendly face. 

“Every once in a while. The kid’s pretty busy, after all, as you know,” Sojiro says. 

“Right,” Goro says, and after he unfocuses for a second, he turns to Akira and whispers, “Does Sakura-san have a confidant?”

“Yeah, he’s the Hierophant,” Akira says, and Goro looks confused.

“I thought Sae-san was the Hierophant… Did you have one for her?” Goro says, and Akira bites his cheek.

“She’s Judgement, for me. I’ll tell you later,” Akira says. Sojiro’s noticed them whispering, so it’s best to shut up about any suspicious subjects. Goro turns back to Sojiro, and keeps making friendly small talk. He’s definitely dropped the Detective Prince attitude around Sojiro, which is understandable, but it doesn’t stop Akira from wondering what exactly went down between Goro and Sojiro. 

“Hey, can you help me out back here?” Sojiro asks Akira during a break in Goro and Sojiro’s conversation. Once Akira’s back behind the counter, Goro starts talking to Sojiro again. After a few minutes, a thoroughly unpleasant voice starts talking on the TV. Goro stops with whatever he’s saying.

“Is it okay if I mute the TV? I’d rather not hear  _ him _ talk,” Goro says, his voice bitter. Sojiro points out the remote, and Shido’s voice goes silent. 

“Isn’t it around the time you usually start getting ready?” Sojiro says to Akira, and after a quick check of the time, Akira decides he should probably get on that. He goes upstairs, and nudges Morgana awake. He seems to be rather surprised.

“Did I sleep through anything important? Is Akechi still here? Did something happen?” Morgana says in a fairly panicked tone. Akira pats him on the head.

“Nothing happened. You seem like you slept well,” Akira says as he tries to work out the creases in his uniform. Once he’s ready to go, he heads down the stairs with Morgana shuffling around in his bag, and is greeted by the sight of Sojiro and Goro watching the TV intently. 

“30 million yen, huh,” Sojiro says, and then he turns to Goro, “that’s quite the sum. Did you know about this?” Seems like they haven’t noticed his presence yet. 

“I knew there was a bounty going out, but I didn’t know it would be this much,” Goro says. 

“You better not go back on what you were saying yesterday, Akechi-kun,” Sojiro says, his voice deadly serious.

“I won’t, Sakura-san,” Goro says, and Akira decides to finish walking down the stairs. Sojiro looks at him.

“You understand exactly how bad the situation you’re in is, right? People are going to be actively looking for the Thieves, now,” Sojiro says.

“I know.” 

“Sheesh…” Sojiro shakes his head, “why did you have to do all of this, kid? And you’ve got the government breathing down your neck now and everything.”

“There were no other options,” Akira says, “Please believe in me.”

“I guess I’m going to have to. I’m not going to sell anyone out, and you’re safe as long as you’re here,” Sojiro says, “you two should probably get going now, though.”

“Understood. We wouldn’t want to be late, after all. Thank you for the coffee, Sakura-san,” Goro says, and they walk out of Leblanc. Once they’re out, Morgana starts talking.

“I really feel bad for the chief. Now he’s gotta worry about us being the Phantom Thieves,” Morgana says.

“I mean, he’s supposed to. He is my guardian, after all,” Akira says, and Morgana seems to understand.

“Speaking of Sakura-san, he appears to be ‘Fortune’ for me,” Goro says. Akira doesn’t know a whole lot about tarot, but it seems fitting. 

“Interesting. Makes me wonder what your Judgement could be,” Akira says. 

“Oh, right. Maybe we’ll see about that, then.” 

Later on, the Phantom Thieves’s group chat is on fire due to the bounty announcement. 

**Spooky Scary Phantom Thieves**

**11:42 am**

**Skull: youve all seen the news right?!?**

**Panther: I almost can’t believe it…**

**Crow: Apologies for not warning you all in advance. I had no idea it was going to be that high.**

**Queen: It’s okay. It would be best if we all met up later today, right?**

**Joker: i can get sojiro to close the cafe**

**Oracle: im on it**

**Queen: Also, there’s still the matter of my sister’s Palace, correct?**

**Joker: yes**

**Fox: To think that it would come to this…**

**Noir: Let’s talk later, okay? We need to focus as much as we can on appearing normal, yes?**

**Panther: right!**

After school, the Shujin Thieves all make their way over to Leblanc, and are greeted by Futaba and Sojiro, who already have coffee ready for them. Goro comes in shortly afterwards, and Futaba hands him back the phone that he gave her last night.

“Full of all the best spyware!” she says, and Goro thanks her. Yusuke finally arrives, too.

“Just a quick question before I go,” Sojiro says, “are all of you the Phantom Thieves?” 

“Yes,” Makoto says, and Sojiro sighs again. He’s been sighing a lot lately. Sojiro takes his hat and coat off of the coat hanger, and walks out of Leblanc.

“I’m not one of them, exactly,” Goro mutters, but Akira elbows him.

“You keep telling yourself that all you want, Trickster,” Akira says, earning himself one of Goro’s petty scowls. 

“If you so insist, my dear fellow Trickster,” Goro says. The rest of the Thieves look confused.

“What’s this whole Trickster thing about? Didn’t you call Akechi ‘Trickster,’ earlier?” Ryuji asks.

“Ignore us. It’s an inside reference between us that would be somewhat difficult to explain. We have other things to discuss too, do we not?” Goro says.

“Yes,” Makoto hangs her head a little bit, “Actually, I want to apologize for something, first.” 

“What could you possibly have to apologize about, Mako-chan?” Haru says.

“It’s just… I already knew that my sister had a Palace before Akechi-kun told us about it. I’m sorry for not telling you all.”

“That’s nothing to be sorry for!” Ryuji says, and Makoto gives him a small smile. 

“Anyway, about Niijima-san’s Palace, do we need to figure out the keywords?” Ann asks. 

“Already done,” Akira says.

“Well then, why don’t we go and scope things out if we’re all on board?” Yusuke says, but Makoto shakes her head.

“Sorry, can we wait another day? I’m still processing the bounty, and that we’re changing my sister’s heart, and that Akira has to fake his death after all of this…” she says.

“I forgot about that,” Ann says. 

“Hey, hey, hey,” Akira says reassuringly, “One step at a time, okay? We have plenty of time until our deadline.”

“What’s the deadline? I’m sorry if I’m misremembering things, but I don’t ever remember you mentioning that,” Haru says. Oops, they should’ve probably brought that up. 

“Oh, sorry, we forgot to mention that,” Goro says. There has to be some sort of telepathy between them. Goro continues, “There’s going to be an investigation into Leblanc on November 20th, as ordered by Sae-san.”

“How- did she figure us out?” Ryuji says.

“She didn’t, most likely, but it’s probably the biggest lead she has,” Makoto says. 

“Things really are escalating, huh?” Ann says.

“Yeah. Let’s all take a breather for the rest of today, and start dealing with this tomorrow, alright?” Akira says. 


	70. Chapter 70

“Akechi-kun, we _ are  _ in the Palace, right?” Takamaki says. Oh, right. Sae-san’s Palace looks relatively normal from their initial entry point, and none of them are in their Metaverse outfits just yet. Akechi’s glad that he doesn’t have to parade himself around in front of the Thieves in that stupid Prince get up ever again. Not like he could if he wanted to, anyway. Last time he went into the Metaverse and tried to summon it up, it was too painful for him to completely switch into it. An interesting change, he notes, as last time it was painful for him to change from his Prince outfit into his Black Mask one. Then again, he was also using his own abilities on himself at the time, which could have contributed. All of these are musings to be saved for another day, as right now, Akira’s leading the pack towards the entrance of the Palace.

“So that’s my sister’s Palace…” Niijima says. Somebody wolf whistles in amazement, likely Sakamoto. 

“The rest of the city seems to be normal, though. It’s not like Kaneshiro’s Palace,” Takamaki says. 

“You guys haven’t changed your outfits yet, anyway. She probably doesn’t care about anything outside of the courthouse,” Morgana says aptly. Akira clears his throat. 

“We should probably go inside, but I doubt we’ll be able to just walk in the front door, so keep your eyes peeled for any possible side entrances,” Akira says. After they walk in a little farther, Akechi points out the side entrance they used last time, and they enter the Palace. Akechi’s relieved to find himself in his Black Mask outfit. If something in his brain decided to be stubborn about keeping things consistent today, he’d be in quite the pickle. 

“Lead the way for us, Joker,” Akechi says, and they all dash across the platforms. Once they crawl through the vent into the main area, they’re ordered by Shadow Sae-san to come down to speak with her. After she tells them where the Treasure is, she teleports to the elevator, and the Thieves are free to follow her. They’re stopped again by that Ose, though. Akechi brings out Hereward, and after using Debilitate and a Megidolaon from Akira and a Freidyne from Makoto, it’s down. They decide to move on. They need to go get those member’s cards, anyways, and Akechi hopes that Sakura-san messes up again. He isn’t sure how receptive she would be to him knowing that he already has a plan, but she’s also aware that this isn’t his first time doing this, so who knows. 

After slashing through several Shadows, it begins to dawn on Akechi that he’s having some modicum of fun. Akira hasn’t even been ordering him around too much. He’s still yet to switch his Personas in front of anyone other than Akira, however, and they’ve all been loudly complaining about it in his head. Especially that one called Alice. After helping Tae-san out by slipping through some bureaucratic stuff tangentially related to Shido, the Death arcana maxed out, and he gained the ability to fuse her. She was rather expensive to summon, as he’s still too low-leveled or whatever, but she’s useful enough. Even with how useful her Die for Me skill can be, she’s still one of his noisiest Personas, though.  _ Come on, I want to play with them! Mister, can they please die for me?  _ she keeps asking. Akira’s certainly noticed his frustration.

“Crow, something on your mind?” Akira says as they hide around a corner from the Shadow that’s guarding the entrance to the security room.

“More like somebody on my mind won’t shut up,” Akechi says. He can feel Niijima and Takamaki’s eyes on his back, undoubtedly giving him a questioning stare. 

“Oh, I see,” Akira says, then turns to Akechi and quiets his voice, “which one is it?”

“Alice.” 

“Wha- I won’t ask how. I don’t see any issues with you switching, you know,” Akira says. Akechi tsks, and uses his Third Eye to check the enemy up ahead. Akira really should’ve told him just how useful this ability is. Being able to see exactly what Shadows are going to pop out is very beneficial.

“It’s just a couple Queen Mabs. Hereward will be more than enough to take care of them,” Akechi says, and Akira looks immediately confused. 

“How do you know- Forget it, we’re in the middle of a hallway. Next safe room we’re talking about this,” Akira says.

“Have you made up your mind, Joker?” Niijima says.

“Yes. Let’s beat it,” Akira says, and lunges out from where they were hiding. As expected, they make quick work of the Shadows, and push on to the control room. The guard Shadow in there crumples before them, and drops the members cards. Futaba registers two of them, and gives Akechi the Taro Tanaka card to throw away. Perfect. He didn’t even have to ask. They leave the security room, and return to the main elevator hall, where Akira almost forcefully drags Akechi into the Safe Room. The rest of the Thieves follow them in, but they all move as far away from the two of them as possible. Akira hasn’t let up on his grip on Akechi, and pulls him into the corner of the Safe Room. 

“How could you tell what was going to come out of that Shadow?” Akira asks.

“You say that like you don’t have the same ability,” Akechi says. Akira gives him an incredulous look, but snaps back to his stoic mask.

“I don’t, actually. Were you using Third Eye?” Akira says.

“I was. What do you see, then?” 

“Just an outline of the Shadow and their general power level. You know, from what you’re saying,” Akira says, and leans against the wall, “considering that you know who is likely trying to shove some sort of divide between us, giving you an ability like that is probably some-”

“Manipulation tactic? Of course it is. You know, for a supposed ‘God of Control,’ he’s laughably terrible.”

“Yeah…” Akira says, his face twisted oddly, “Let’s get going.”

Back in the main Palace area, they use the members card on the elevator, and head on up to the next floor. Shadow Sae-san greets them, and ever so nicely taunts them before disappearing again to the elevator. Well, looks like it’s time to deal with the rigging. The Nebiros guarding the dice games’s controls is laughably weak, going down after a couple all out attacks and some Bless damage from Akira. Still no need for Akechi to switch his Personas. Futaba rigs one of the rooms, and they’re on their way again. After collecting their fair share of coins, they return to the main hall. Akechi suddenly remembers that last time, he had ‘borrowed’ Sakamoto to go get some more coins. 

“I know we already have some coins, but it would be rather nice to have more. Skull, can you come with me please? Everyone else can wait here,” Akechi says to the group. Sakamoto looks as confused as he did last time. 

“Huh? Why me? Wouldn’t you rather have Joker with you?” Sakamoto says. He’d rather have that, but the leader should stay with the majority of the group. Plus, who knows what little rumors and jokes they could spin up while they were gone?

“I’m expecting that this might end up being fairly heavy. Also, wouldn’t it be best if our leader stayed with the rest of the group?” Akechi says as nicely as he can without slipping into his fake voice. Sakamoto thinks on this, but he seems to agree, and follows Akechi back into the dice game area. Akechi’s plan last time was to simply continue playing the dice game, as well as scam some of the cognitive patrons out of their coins. 

“Crow, if you don’t mind me askin’, what were you and Joker talking about earlier?” Sakamoto asks as he pushes the cart of coins. 

“Private,” Akechi says. 

“Should I be worried? Joker usually doesn’t drag people around like that.” Akechi grits his teeth. He gets that the Thieves are worried about them, especially after that little  _ episode  _ of his over the Hawaii trip, but would it kill them to worry a little less? Speaking of the Hawaii trip, he’s surprised none of them have mentioned him talking about Maruki or Yaldabaoth. 

“No. Please don’t,” Akechi says, and leaves it at that. Sakamoto sighs, but Akechi chooses to ignore it, and they rejoin the group. Time to move onto the slot room. They’re immediately stopped by a Jatayu, which Niijima mops up quickly. They proceed onwards into the back rooms in search of the terminals, and bump into a few Shadows along the way. Almost all of these Shadows have been nothing more than nuisances, other than the red ones. Those ones have been fun to fight, but still haven’t really scratched the itch. However, Akechi should have been happy with the easy fights, as somehow, they’re careless enough to get jumped by a Shadow. The Ose gets a critical hit on Akira, knocking him flat on his ass, and the other Ose and Queen Mab attack Takamaki and Niijima. They’re surrounded, and Akechi wants to kill them as fast as possible. He’s about to bust out Hereward to Megidolaon them, but Akira stops them.

“Crow. Bless skills. I don’t care what or where from,” Akira says, still kneeling on the ground. Akechi scowls, and finally allows himself to switch. He summons Power, and immediately hears a shocked sound from Takamaki and Niijima. Some of the other Personas complain about not being chosen to fight, but he ignores them. He hits the Shadows with Makouga, and hits them with it once again on his One More. 

“Since when did Crow-?!” Sakura-san’s voice crackles. Luckily, Akira gets back up, and suddenly Akechi feels a familiar rush.

“It’s showtime!” Akira says. Akechi’s very glad that this still seems to work. Akechi charges himself up, and Akira dashes through the roof tops, slashing down on the Queen Mab, jumping out of the way just in time to dodge Akechi. Akechi slices into the Shadow, and Akira puts the finishing touch on the Shadow’s life with a single gunshot.

“That’s what it gets,” Akechi snarls, and him and Akira start walking again. However, both Takamaki and Niijima stay rooted to where they were standing during the fight. 

“Crow, how? When? Do you have the same ability as Joker somehow?” Takamaki says. Akechi shrugs.

“More or less. We should keep moving. We don’t want any repeats of what just happened now, do we?” Akechi says, and Niijima and Takamaki nod and start following them once more. They get all the terminals tampered with, and finally return to the big slot machine. After they get their 777 and their 50,000 coins, Akira escorts them all back to the desk to get the high limit card. While Akira’s working on that, Akechi begins his borrowing scheme. It’s important that the other Thieves don’t learn of it, because if Shadow Sae-san figures it out, they might get trapped in an infinite coin gathering loop. With all that said and done, they move onto the high limit floor. Like last time, they’re blocked by a closed door and a terse Shadow asking for their reservation. The Thieves walk away from it, and have their short chat about what to do next.

“So since this is Sae-san’s perception of the courthouse, then whatever we need to do to get past here is going to relate to that,” Akechi says. He’s trying to goad any one of the other Thieves into thinking for once. Niijima rubs her chin.

“The courtroom is the first place I can think of,” she says, unsurprisingly. She’s definitely one of the smarter Thieves. 

“Right, I was thinking the same. Do you happen to know which trials your sister will be participating in?” Akechi asks. 

“No, sorry.”

“Then I’ll ask around,” Akechi says, “Joker, why don’t we get going?” Akira nods, and the Thieves follow him out. Just as they’re about to leave, Niijima suddenly stops them.

“Crow. You really shouldn’t have hidden the fact that you have the same power as Joker, you know.” she says.

“Yeah, I know.” 


	71. Chapter 71

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Readers can have a happy(ier) chapter. As a treat.

Akira sits in between Goro and Makoto, and taps his foot as they wait on Sae to notice them. There isn’t much else he can do without sticking out too much. Some of the other Thieves are talking to each other, but it’s quiet enough that Akira can’t hear what they’re saying. Futaba’s leaning forward to talk to Yusuke, and Ryuji’s talking to Ann. Ryuji had turned around earlier to ask Goro about the trial, but now they’re just waiting on Sae. Thankfully, mere moments after Akira thinks this, Sae looks up, eyes wide, and mutters something to herself before turning her attention back to whatever she was reading. Morgana busts himself out of the bag.

“Nice, we should be able to get through now!” Morgana says, and Ryuji reaches back to push his head back into the bag.

“Quiet! Stay in the bag, damn it!” Ryuji hisses, and Morgana meows a quick apology before dropping his head back down. Morgana doesn’t pop his head back out for the rest of the trial, which is just as boring as it was last time. Goro actually falls asleep a few times, prompting Akira to jab him as nicely as he can in the side of his ribs. Thankfully, they all make it through without accidentally causing any major interruptions, and make their way back into the Palace. The door blocking the way is finally gone, and they walk up to the counter. The dealer is nice enough to give them 1000 coins and a map of the place, as well as telling them to go check out the bridge to the Manager’s Floor. Like last time, the bridge activator demands that they bring 100,000 coins, which Akira hears Goro scoff at. Hopefully Shadow Sae didn’t hear that and interpret it as a challenge. 

They return back into the main hall, and decide to continue onwards to the maze. It’s significantly easier than last time, with Akira and Goro working in tandem with their Third Eyes. From what Akira can tell, it seems as if Goro’s is also better at seeing in the dark than Akira’s, which is useful. If Yaldabaoth’s intention here was to make Akira jealous, it’s not working. They make their way through and into the end area, where the Shadow that greeted them at the entrance of the maze is itching for a fight.

“Just a Raja Naga,” Goro says with a cruel, sweet smile, “It won’t put up much of a fight.” He’s right, as it doesn’t take the four of them very long at all to defeat it. It’s definitely made easier by the fact that Goro’s switched back to his fighting style that can only be described as ‘feral.’ Ever since that Showtime of theirs, Goro’s only gotten more and more wild in battle, and shows no signs of stopping. Not that Akira particularly minds, of course, as long as Goro doesn’t end up accidentally going overboard. On the other hand, some of the other Thieves are a bit concerned.

“Joker, I know he’s not super up tight and all that, but is he usually like this?” Ann had asked him after beating a Shadow in the maze. 

“Yup,” was all Akira could say. Ann just sighed in response. But now, Akira’s mulling over something. He has a feeling that Goro’s going to try to be the one to participate in the combat arena, whether it’s for some sort of strange apology for making Akira be the one to fight last time, or to flex his strength in front of Akira. His hunch does prove correct, as once they’re past the Shadow guarding the entrance to the arena’s lobby, Goro presses something into Akira’s hand. It’s the Taro Tanaka card. 

“I’ll be the one fighting,” Goro whispers to him, and starts walking over to the rest of the Thieves standing at the counter. Akira puts his hand out to stop Goro, and leans in to talk, but Yusuke cuts him off.

“One on one? Don’t tell me…” Yusuke exclaims. 

“I don’t remember what your little plan is,” Akira says, and Goro scowls. 

“Just bet on me. I’ll handle the rest, dear,” Goro says, and they both walk back to the group. Makoto looks lost in thought. 

“We need those one hundred thousand coins,” she says, “but I’m worried about the fight…”

“I’ll handle it,” Goro says. Ryuji looks over at him in confusion, but then his face relaxes.

“Better you than Joker,” he says, and Goro nods sharply.

“That’s the point,” Goro says, and then walks up to the entry door, “Anyway, we need those coins, right? No point in wasting any time here.” The rest of the Thieves nod, and move on up to the observation deck. As they get settled, Akira secretly places his bet on Goro on the Taro Tanaka card, before placing their real bet on the other card. Once he’s done, he looks out into the ring. Goro strides confidently forwards as the PA system crackles to life. 

“Welcome welcome welcome! Today’s most enthralling battle is finally here! Instead of their idiot leader, the Phantom Thieves seem to have sent out their leader’s rabid right hand man! But wait! There’s more! It seems the Phantom Thieves are shockingly popular, as the odds are 1.1 to the house, and 23.0 to the Thieves. Let’s begin our one-on-one battles!” As soon as the announcer finishes his sentence, two Ganeshas pop out of the ground. Goro slouches into his fighting stance. 

“Wait, the hell? This ain’t one-on-one!” Ryuji says. 

“I should’ve expected cheating, but not as flagrantly as this,” Yusuke says. 

“Let the battle begin!” the announcer shouts, and Goro rips off his mask. Okuninushi pops out from behind Goro, and he casts Mapsio, knocking down both of the Ganeshas. Once they’re down, he hits them again, and they dissolve. Goro shrugs. Akira can almost hear him saying that that was too easy. 

“My, my! He really is blood thirsty! Doesn’t make him any less of a loser, though! Bring out the next fighters!” 

“Fighters? They’re really just going to keep cheating then…” Ann says, and three Rangdas emerge. 

“How cowardly!” Haru says.

“Hey, all of you in the peanut gallery should shut up. The next battle begins now!” Goro switches to the Power he used earlier. Akira hopes that Goro’s able to knock them all down quickly, as he knows that the Rangdas all have Curse skills. Thankfully, he makes quick work of them with a couple Makougas, and the announcer jeers as the Rangdas dissipate.

“Fine, you think you’re so cool. Try this out for size, then!” the announcer says, and the Thor manifests on the field. Goro switches back to Hereward, and hits the Thor with a Debilitate. The Thor responds with a Ziodyne, which causes Goro to stumble briefly. Goro hits back with a Megidolaon, and the Thor crumples. Goro swiftly turns on his heel, and walks towards the exit. The PA announcer stutters into the microphone.

“Uh… Well! Well. Your payout will be given after.. this..” he says, and the rest of the Thieves get up to leave. Once they meet back up with Goro, Goro once again presses his hand into Akira’s, and Akira smoothly slips the card back to him. Seems like this little relationship of theirs is also a perfect cover for some thief skills. From here on out, it’s just activating the bridge, and walking into the main treasure hall. Shadow Sae’s efforts to thwart their operation fail just as miserably as last time with Goro’s plan, and they proceed into the Manager’s Room. The glowing orb of what’s going to be the Treasure floats over a pedestal, and after Shadow Sae taunts them with a final battle, they return to the entrance. Just as they’re about to leave, however, something whips into the back of Akira’s calf.

“Inmates! You’ve been ignoring us!” Caroline says as Akira regains his footing. Goro scowls, and steps slightly in front of Akira.

“We’ve been busy. Can’t you tell?” Goro says, and Caroline crosses her arms. 

“What Caroline is attempting to say is that now you have secured a route to the treasure, you will have ample time to do things. Such as showing us around.” Justine says neutrally. The other Thieves have taken notice at this point. Akira sighs. 

“Just come to Leblanc with Crow and I. I’m tired, and I’m sure Crow is too,” Akira says. 

“Hmph. Fine! Take us to this ‘Leblanc’ then.” Caroline says, and follows them out of the Metaverse.

“So, uh, Akira? I know you told us about them, but who are they really?” Ryuji says once they’re out. Akira looks over at them. They’re both bugging Goro, so hopefully they won’t hear what he’s about to say.

“Honestly, I have no idea. They live in the place where I go to fuse my Personas, but other than that, nothing.”

“Well then,” Makoto sighs, “Why don’t we all get going? I think we’re all pretty burnt out from today. Good luck with those two.”

“Thanks,” Akira says, and the Thieves walk their separate ways. Akira rejoins Goro and the twins, and they make their way to the train. Once they get on, both of the twins turn their attention onto Akira.

“So, Inmate 1, this ‘Leblanc’ is your master’s castle, correct?” Justine says.

“More or less.”

“Don’t sass us, Inmate! Nonetheless, it would be rather neglectful of us to not meet the one overseeing your rehabilitation in this world. Right, Justine?” Caroline says. Goro sighs.

“Sakura-san’s probably going to be very surprised,” he says flatly. 

“We’ll just tell him that we’ve adopted them,” Akira says, and Goro chuckles.

“I doubt anyone would want to trust me with adopting a child, and neither of us are of age to do that anyway, Akira.” Goro says.

“You’re no fun, Goro Akechi,” Akira says. 

“A tragedy,” Goro says. Even with how tired he claims to be, he’s just as snark-filled as ever. Finally, they show up at Leblanc, and Akira politely invites them inside. Goro walks in first, with the girls behind him, and Akira follows him in.

“Welcome back- oh, hello Akechi-kun- wait. Who are those kids?” Sojiro says. Caroline looks around the cafe in amazement, while Goro moves past them to go sit down in a booth. 

“You are the master of this place, correct? We would like to extend our thanks for assisting in Inmate 1’s rehabilitation,” Justine says. 

“Inmate 1? Rehabilitation?” Sojiro says, and pinches the bridge of his nose. 

“We truly must express our gratitude! It’s all going as planned, after all,” Caroline adds. Sojiro turns to Akira, but also glances over at Goro.

“What crowd did you two get involved with…?” Sojiro asks.

“A lot’s happened,” Akira says.

“Not our choice, anyway,” Goro says at the same time as Akira. Sojiro sighs his usual sigh of concern and disappointment.

“I’m not gonna ask… Anyway,” he says, slipping into his customer service attitude, “have you eaten? I can make some curry.” 

“Curry? Justine, do you know what that is?”  
“Haven’t the faintest idea. But we will politely accept this ‘curry,’” Justine says. Sojiro nods, and moves back into the kitchen area. Akira sits down next to Goro, and the twins hop into the seat across from them. Goro’s resting his head on his hand, his elbow firmly planted on the table. He looks tired. It’s not as bad as it was at the beginning of this year, but he definitely over exerted himself today.

“Hey,” Akira says softly, “you good?” 

“Just tired. The food and the coffee should help, though.” Sojiro’s timing is almost perfect, as he comes over to the table with the plates of food. As soon as a plate goes down in front of Goro, he starts eating. The twins watch him do this, analyzing his reaction to it. Once they seem to understand that it’s safe, they begin to study their own curry.

“What- the rice! This sludge is overtaking this rice!” Caroline gasps. Sojiro looks utterly confused, and tries to explain what curry is to the twins. After a bit of back and forth between them, Sojiro turns back to Akira and Goro.

“What on earth are these kids going on about?”

“Just ignore it,” Akira says. Before Sojiro can respond, Caroline pipes up.

“If this spice is a god, that makes Inmate 1’s master a godslayer, yes? I understand now how he can manage him.”

“I would believe that anything made by a godslayer must be good. We will pay our respects now, and eat this mysterious sludge,” Justine adds on. They both start eating.

“It’s so… spicy! Everything burns… and yet, it’s good!” Caroline says.

“You get used to the burn,” Goro says.

“Should I put more spice in yours next time, Goro?” Akira says, and Goro gives him the TV smile.

“I’d rather you not do that, Akira.” he says, his voice saccharine, and a chill runs down Akira’s spine.

“As long as you never do  _ that _ again,” Akira says. The twins haven’t noticed their conversation, and are still talking to each other and Sojiro. Caroline gets his attention again by tapping on the table a few times. 

“You should be grateful, Inmate 1, lest you become the next spice in this godslayer’s dish.” Caroline says, and Sojiro hits everyone with another sigh.

“I’m going to go home. Futaba’s probably waiting on me, anyway. Why don’t you make some coffee for them? I did hear that Akechi-kun wanted some,” Sojiro says, and then walks out. Akira gets out of the booth. He might as well, so he gets to work. As he walks into the kitchen area, the twins turn to Goro.

“Inmate 2, is there a master of your household as well?” Caroline says.

“I live alone.” is all Goro says, and then he turns his attention back to his curry. 

“Interesting… I was under the impression that you and Inmate 1 shared some sort of accommodation,” Justine says, and for the first time in a long time, he watches Goro’s face flare red briefly. 

“Although I would vastly prefer it, I don’t live here.” Goro says. 

“Huh? But you two sleep in the same space frequently,” Caroline says. Akira’s enjoying watching Goro get embarrassed and recomposing himself.

“Perhaps we do.” Goro says. Akira’s done with the coffee, so he brings over the cups for the twins, and then gets his and Goro’s.

“You know, if you hate wherever you live so much, you could probably move in with me,” Akira says. Goro scoffs. 

“I may have to take you up on that offer at some point-” Goro says, but he’s interrupted by Caroline spitting her coffee out everywhere. 

“Why is this so bitter?! Does everything the godslayer offers on his menu aim to hurt the patrons?”

“They do have milk and sugar, if you can’t handle a simple cup of coffee,” Goro taunts, and Caroline pinches up her face in a scowl.

“Are those the mysterious additives that can be added to this ‘coffee?’ I demand them,” Justine says, and Akira retreats again to the back. He comes back out with the carton of milk and sugar packets, which Justine uses all of. 

“Akira, is that even coffee at this point?” Goro asks, and Akira shrugs.

“It’s how she wants it.”

“Fair,” Goro says, and Justine takes a few tentative sips. It seems to be to her approval, and she drinks the rest of it down. Justine thanks Akira, and he sits back down.

“Your assignment is complete,” Caroline says, and she hands Akira and Goro each a skill card, “we want to thank you for introducing us to the godslayer’s food.”

“No problem,” Akira says.

“We should probably take you back to the Velvet Room now, right?” Goro says, and the twins nod in conjunction. 

“Don’t think that this is your last assignment, Inmates!” Caroline says. Akira clears their plates, and they escort the twins back to the room.

On the way back, Goro seems even more tired, but he has a worried look on his face.

“Goro. You didn’t overexert yourself today, did you?” Akira says, and he sighs. 

“I did, but that’s not what’s bothering me. We still haven’t made a plan to get you out of that interrogation room, save taking you out through the Metaverse.” Right. That’s another thing they’re going to have to talk about.

“I don’t remember much from that time, but I’ll try to piece together as much as I can.” 

“Tch. Of course you don’t. SIU thinks it’s in their best interest to beat the shit out of a high schooler and inject god knows what into him,” Goro says. 

“We’re going to figure something out, okay?” Akira says. 


	72. Chapter 72

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a filler chapter. Next chapter though...
> 
> It's going to be fun.

**Spooky Scary Phantom Thieves**

**8:12 pm**

**Crow: Oracle, can you please ensure that this chat can be fully encrypted?**

**Oracle: huh**

**Oracle: i mean i totally can but why??**

**Crow: Joker and I have some rather sensitive things to talk about that should be written somewhere securely.**

**Crow: After this mission, this chat will need to be wiped.**

**Skull: is there somethin up i thought we were just gonna go steal the treasure and be done with it**

**Queen: Akechi-kun…**

**Crow: We should be using code names from here on out.**

**Queen: Oh, right, sorry.**

**Queen: But this is about that whole thing with framing Joker’s death, right?**

**Joker: yes**

**Skull: WHAT**

**Fox: I had nearly forgotten…**

**Panther: How could you forget that!**

**Noir: …**

**Noir: I had forgotten too…**

**Queen: We’ve all been dealing with a lot here.**

**Queen: It’s not surprising that some of us have forgotten.**

**Skull: still my bad**

**Fox: So, Crow, what exactly are we going to need to plan for?**

**Skull: and why can’t we just go take the treasure and avoid a lot of this stuff**

**Crow: Firstly, Shido is making arrangements for me to let a large police force into the Metaverse.**

**Panther: What? How? How are you going to do that?** **  
** **Skull: how do you know you can even do that**

**Crow: I can do a lot of things, Skull.**

**Crow: However, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume that Joker can bring in even more people than I can.**

**Joker: maybe not at this point because of you know what trying to boost you**

**Crow: Oh, right, yes. His bullshit is rather annoying.**

**Crow: He truly is pathetic if he thinks little tricks and “gifts” like that will make me cooperate with him.**

**Fox: ?**

**Joker: wildcard things**

**Noir: Wildcard?**

**Crow: It’s the ability that Joker and I share that allows us to change our Personas.**

**Crow: Moving onwards, their main goal will be to capture any of the Phantom Thieves, but they are gunning specifically for Joker.**

**Joker: the plan that crow and i have come up with is to have me go show myself and get caught while the rest of you all get away**

**Joker: since its me they want anyway**

**Skull: uh no**

**Skull: joker youre not doing that**

**Skull: let me go instead**

**Crow: They’ll suspect that something is up if they don’t catch Joker.**

**Crow: It’ll be dangerous for him, yes, but nothing he can’t handle.**

**Oracle: …**

**Oracle: i guess ill have to trust you on this one**

**Oracle: you better pull him out asap though!!**

**Joker: theres also another part thats going to be absolutely needed unless we resort to the emergency plan**

**Joker: im gonna need to get sae-san on our side**

**Queen: What does my sister have to do with this?**

**Crow: She’s going to be a key part of sneaking Joker out of the interrogation room.**

**Crow: Considering that no one is going to go check for Joker’s corpse, the hard part is going to be getting Joker out.**

**Panther: What do you mean “no one is going to check for Joker’s corpse”?**

**Crow: Let’s just say that they want their headline, and will do anything to get it.**

**Joker: me being dead is gonna do great things for shidos campaign slogans**

**Joker: i can see it now…**

**Joker: “Vote for me, Masayoshi Shido! I helped take care of one of those nasty little brat Phantom Thieves!”**

**Crow: Joker…**

**Joker: yes?**

**Crow: :|**

**Joker: ;)**

**Queen: Moving on…**

**Queen: What are you going to do if Joker fails to get my sister on our side?**

**Crow: Well, I have permission to go into that interrogation room at any time.**

**Crow: I’ll go in, grab him, and take him out through the Metaverse.**

**Joker: ideally ill be able to smooth talk sae-san into helping us**

**Skull: i still dont like this plan at all**

**Skull: i really really dont**

**Skull: joker are you sure youre absolutely okay with doing this**

**Joker: its what has to be done**

**Joker: and im not afraid to lay down my life for you all**

**Joker: me actually dying is not in the plans whatsoever but just know that**

**Noir: Joker…**

**Noir: That’s very sweet of you.**

**Noir: But please survive!**

**Noir: We can’t take down Shido without you!**

**Fox: Crow, please ensure that he makes it back to us alive and safe.**

**Crow: I can guarantee he’s coming back alive.**

**Crow: I’m not sure what you mean by safe though, especially considering what the police are likely going to do to him.**

**Panther: Oh no…**

**Skull: whats that supposed to mean**

**Queen: I would be shocked if the only thing they do to Joker is drug him.**

**Queen: Considering that we are most likely enemy number one in Shido and his associate’s eyes, I wouldn’t be surprised if a few of them take it as an opportunity to take their anger out on him.**

**Crow: Precisely, Queen.**

**Skull: are you freaking kidding me???**

**Skull: joker are you still sure youre okay with this**

**Joker: its okay**

**Joker: this is for the good of the phantom thieves and the future**

**Fox: The future?**

**Fox: I understand that we need to trick Shido into believing that you’re dead in order for him to believe our calling card for him, right?**

**Joker: yes**

**Fox: But is there something else we’re going to have to do?**

**Crow: Uh.**

**Joker: uhhhh**

**Joker: anyway do we all understand the plan?**

**Crow: Of course.**

**Oracle: yes!**

**Oracle: and Crow i will destroy your reputation and life if you dont keep good on it!**

**Crow: That’s fair.**

**Skull: i guess but i aint happy**

**Panther: I understand!**

**Fox: I still would like my question answered but I do understand.**

**Noir: Please don’t fail!**

**Queen: Understood.**

**Crow: And one more thing.**

**Crow: Don’t believe anything the news says about the Thieves anymore.**

**Joker, Crow**

**November 6, 20XX**

**8:22 pm**

**Joker: yusukes onto the whole yaldabaoth thing**

**Crow: I can tell.**

**Crow: One last time.**

**Crow: You’re certain that you’re okay with doing this?**

**Joker: positive**

**Joker: i dont remember a lot that happened though**

**Crow: That’s probably better for you, then.**

**Crow: The only worrying part is that you might not remember what you said to Sae-san.**

**Joker: so uh**

**Joker: i kind of do**

**Joker: she helped me because i made her realize we had a traitor that sold us out that was the guilty party**

**Crow: You don’t have to phrase it like that.**

**Joker: just being clear dear**

**Joker: and it still seems like someones a bit miffed that his plan didnt work**

**Crow: :|**

**Joker: you really like that one huh**

**Crow: It’s very accurate.**

**Crow: Anyway, what you’re saying is that you’re going to need to convince Sae-san in a different way, right?**

**Joker: yeah**

**Crow: I see.**

**Crow: I really wish we could just handle Yaldabaoth on our own.**

**Joker: he can literally write people out of existence**

**Joker: we cant**

**Joker: but lets not worry about that now**

**Joker: we got bigger issues**

**Crow: Also, how did Yoshizawa-san figure out about us going into the Palace?**

**Joker: no idea but apparently she’s been following us this whole time**

**Crow: Interesting.**

**Crow: Well, we’re probably going to run into her again, right?**

**Joker: yeah**

**Joker: also maruki is almost finished with his research**

**Crow: How fantastic.**

**Crow: I wonder what he’s going to try this time.**

**Crow: Considering that I shouldn’t be meeting an early demise this time.**

**Joker: you talked to him one on one once this time once right**

**Crow: Regrettably, I did.**

**Crow: However, it was a very simple conversation. We just talked about you.**

**Joker: huh**

**Joker: it might not stop him from trying to dig up stuff**

**Crow: Of course. We must stay careful.**

**Crow: May I come over to Leblanc?**

**Joker: you say that like im gonna say no**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Akechi and Akira proceeded to bitch about Shido and Yaldy boy for a solid 30 minutes at Leblanc.


	73. Chapter 73

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)

“Kurusu-kun! Exactly who I was looking for. Good morning. I’m really sorry, since I know this is incredibly last minute, but are you free to join me at lunch?” Maruki says. Akira turns around to face him. This is it. This is the last time Akira’s going to see him as a regular person. The next time he sees that kind expression of his, it’ll be in a very different context. 

“Sure,” Akira says. Maruki smiles.

“Great! I’ll see you then, then. I do have something I want to talk about with you, and considering that it’s the last time we’ll be able to talk, I already planned on doing something nice for you for lunch.”

“That’s right… Pretty sad, isn’t it?” Akira says, and Maruki nods. 

“Indeed it is. Anyway, I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me individually today. We’ll still be seeing each other at the morning assembly, though! Speaking of which, I need to go prep for that, so I guess I’ll be seeing you later, then,” Maruki says, and then waves goodbye.

“See ya later, then,” Akira says, and Maruki walks off. As soon as Maruki turns the corner, Akira can feel every muscle he was unintentionally clenching relax. Earlier, when he was speaking with Maruki, he didn’t feel anywhere near this tense. He still felt the odd pang of discomfort every so often, but as the days came closer and closer to today, his tension around Maruki increased. Hopefully, Maruki hasn’t noticed. Akira doesn’t doubt that the guy probably has some degree of mind reading ability, though. How else could he have found out about Goro’s death? Or, well, whatever happened to Goro. Akira’s still not sure, and Goro’s been fairly tight lipped about it. He doesn’t blame him for that. Morgana, however…

“Akira? Are you okay? You seemed kind of uncomfortable,” Morgana says from inside the bag. 

“I’m just worried about what’s to come, that’s all,” Akira mutters. It’s the full, absolute truth.

“I think we all are,” Morgana says. With that over with, Akira and Morgana head on over to the gym. Ann’s already here, and a couple minutes later, Ryuji walks in and stands in his spot. Around him, Akira can hear the sniffles of some students. Akira’s not sure when, where, and how Maruki’s fanclub formed, but there’s definitely going to be people missing him. The few people crying only get louder once Maruki comes out on stage. If Akira hadn’t already known that Maruki’s savior complex had formed earlier than this, watching people “suffer” like this might’ve. Maruki smiles kindly at a few of the faces in the audience, and once he spots Akira, gives him the tiniest nod of acknowledgement. The vice principal concludes his speech, and Maruki takes over. Akira tunes out, as it’s rather generic, but suddenly refocuses when Maruki says something rather interesting.

“Please take this as my final piece of counseling. If a situation becomes too painful for you to handle, it’s always okay to escape it. This unfair reality isn’t one you have to live in,” Maruki says, deadly serious. Akira has to laugh. Ann turns around and gives him a strange look after he scoffs. Goro’s attitude really has been rubbing off on him. Maruki doesn’t seem to have noticed, though, and he continues on with his speech. He takes a bow and hits his head on the microphone again once he’s done. Most of the other students leave the gym once he’s done, but some of Maruki’s fans cluster up around him. The Shujin Thieves form their own clump near Maruki’s fan circle. Makoto sighs.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to thank him any time soon…” she says, and Haru nods in agreement.

“Catching him in the hallway would probably be a better idea. We should get going if we don’t want to be late to class, though,” Haru says, and they all make their way to their rooms. After Ryuji leaves the group, it’s just him, Ann, and Morgana walking to their classroom.

“Akira, what were you laughing about during Maruki’s speech?” Ann asks him, a curious look on her face. His mind instantly spins through his wheel of excuses, and settles on something reasonable.

“Just thinking about something funny Goro did one time,” Akira says, and Ann smirks.

“I am so glad I got you two to actually talk to each other,” Ann says, “but you should probably not think about your boyfriend during someone’s nice goodbye speech.”

“Sorry,” Akira says, and sits down at his desk. The teacher walks in, and Akira zones out. 

Once they’re finally let out for lunch, Akira makes his way to the nurse’s office. Maruki’s waiting for him, with food on the table and his paper sitting on a desk at the end of the table. Akira takes a seat.

“I really hope this is to your liking. Considering this is the last time I’ll ever get to eat here, I realized I should go all out! I’ve been wondering about the place I got this from for a while, and I just finally decided to try it,” Maruki says.

“Thank you,” Akira says, and takes the lid off. It smells amazing, but Akira’s glasses start fogging up immediately. From what he can see through them, Maruki’s are fogging up as well. 

“This really does smell good… Wish I could see it, though,” Maruki says.

“I guess this is what we get for being four eyes,” Akira says, and Maruki chuckles. They both finish their food, and turn their attention to the matter at hand.

“Well, since we’re done, I can finally share my big news. I finished my paper.” Maruki says.

“Congratulations,” Akira says as cordially as possible.

“I know I’ve thanked you before, but I really, truly, want to express my gratitude. Without your valuable input, I wouldn’t have ever been able to finish this. I’m truly, truly thankful for your input as a Shujin student, and” oh boy, here we go, “as a phantom thief.” Akira leans back in his chair casually.

“You got me,” Akira says. He’d rather just get this part over with than go through the song and dance of playing dumb. Maruki raises his eyebrows.

“I didn’t expect you’d admit to it so ,” he says.

“I figured that you’d probably figure it out eventually one way or another,” Akira says, and Maruki nods dutifully. 

“I did see many similarities between what the supposed “Phantom Thieves of Hearts” were doing, and my own research the more and more we talked. But I only approached you initially after seeing you and I believe… Sakamoto-kun and Takamaki-san, yes? After I saw you all returning from a mission. And once Kamoshida had his change of heart, it all fell into place. And here we are now,” Maruki leans forward, “Does it change your opinion of me now that I’ve told you all of this?”

“We made a deal, didn’t we?” Akira says cooly. 

“I suppose we did. Thank you for seeing it like that. Also, please don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone about you. But I have to keep thanking you. I finally know what I need to do. I’m going to rework this reality into a better place using this research, no matter what,” Akira wonders if Maruki realizes what he’s saying, “Although, I doubt you and I will be using the same methods.”

“We all go about our justice differently,” Akira says. 

“Indeed,” Maruki says, “I’m very proud of you for having such a strong mental compass, and I’m thankful for it too,” Maruki’s face suddenly changes to one of concern, “But, before we finish up, can I ask you a question as your counselor?”  
“Sure,” Akira says. If this is where Maruki tries to pry his desired reality out of him, Akira won’t be saying anything. He’s already living in it, anyway.

“Has everything been okay lately? You’ve seemed rather tired and tense as of late. Is everything okay with you and Akechi-kun, too? I hope that’s not a source of any issues…”

“I’m fine. Really, I am. And I wouldn’t change what’s going on with Goro and I for the world,” Akira says. It’s cheesy as all hell, but hopefully Maruki hears it as “don’t try to screw with us again in your fun new false reality you’re going to be making soon.” Maruki nods sagely. 

“I’m just making sure. I do care a lot about your well being, after all,” Maruki stands up, walks over to Akira, and extends his hand, “Well, our time here is running short. It’s not like we won’t ever see each other again, I want to repeat myself. Thank you for everything up to this point now.” Akira shakes his hand, and the Councillor arcana ranks up. 

“I truly hope I can pay you back someday,” Maruki says. He’s about to say something else, but the bell rings. 

“Sorry, I need to get going,” Akira says, and Maruki waves him out. 

After school, it’s time for their final meeting. The Shujin Thieves gather at the school entrance, and head to Leblanc. Once they get there, Goro’s already sitting at his spot at the counter, and Futaba’s typing away at her laptop in a booth. The only one they’re waiting on now is Yusuke. Once everyone gets settled, Akira feels his phone buzz.

**November 18, 20XX**

**4:32 pm**

**Crow: Have you spoken with Maruki recently?**

**Joker: i talked to him today**

**Joker: did something happen**

**Crow: I fucked up.**

**Crow: I fucked up big time.**

**Crow: He might have something to use against me now.**

**Joker: what did you do????????**

**Crow: Just**

**Crow: The next time my most recent interview pops up on the damn TV, watch it**

**Joker: okay…?**

**Joker: anything specific**

**Crow: Talk later, Yusuke’s coming.**

Right as Goro’s last text pops up on his phone, Yusuke walks in, and they’re able to commence the meeting. The calling card is handed over to Makoto, and the plans for meeting at the Palace tomorrow are set. Hopefully, whatever plan Makoto makes works as well as it did last time. Just as soon as the meeting started, it’s over, and everyone begins leaving. Akira can vaguely remember the rest of the Thieves sticking around last time to discuss the plan to trick Goro. Now, it’s just Goro at the counter. 

“So… what did you do?”  
“Just turn on the TV.” Akira turns it on, and tunes it onto the daytime talk show channel. He’s just in time for the Q and A section. Goro puts his head on the counter

“Sooooo, Akechi-kun, you already live such an interesting life, but tell us, is there anything that would make you over the moon right now?” the announcer says in a tinny voice.

“Well,” Goro’s TV voice says, “I would love nothing more than to catch the Phantom Thieves.” 

“Oh, come on, we all know that!” the announcer laughs, “What about something no one here knows? Any aspirations? Dreams?”

“Ah, well,” Akira can see TV Goro’s gears turning, “I suppose I am rather envious of those my age. They all are still having fun with their families, and not having to deal with all the parts of being a celebrity.”

“It just slipped out… I put so much effort into my public image… And now things just…  _ slip out _ ?! ” Goro groans, and Akira puts a comforting hand on his shoulder. A bad joke about his monologue in the boiler room bites at the back of Akira’s throat, but he shoves it down.

“You live alone, right?” the announcer says. Goro paws around for the remote, and turns off the TV. Goro sits up.

“So, you get what can happen here, right? Maruki might look into my family history now and try some new shit on me with that. Unless either of us dies, of course,” Goro says. 

“That’s not going to happen. Us dying, I mean,” Akira says.

“Yeah, I know. Speaking of your death, you’re certain you’re ready for tomorrow?” Goro says.

“Perfectly ready to be declared legally dead, Goro,” Akira says. 

“I meant more about the whole interrogation part,” Goro says.

“Oh, that? I don’t remember what happened. Do you want some coffee?” 

“Sure,” Goro says, and they leisurely talk for the rest of the evening, avoiding the topic of tomorrow as much as they can.

The next day, they all meet at Leblanc. The time has come.

“We absolutely can’t screw any part of this up,” Ryuji says, with a pointed glare at Goro.

“Sae-san got the calling card, right?” Goro asks Makoto, who nods in response.

“Let’s save my sister’s heart,” Makoto says.

“Akira, final check. You’re absolutely definitely fine with getting caught?” Ryuji says, and Akira nods. Ryuji sighs, but he seems to have finally accepted it. 

“I don’t see any more point standing around, then. For the Phantom Thieves!” Morgana says, and they’re off. 

Once they get back into the Palace, they return to the Managers Room. As expected, Sae has whisked away the treasure. Sae takes her time taunting them a bit, before opening up the door to the elevator to the roulette wheel arena. Once they come in, Sae lectures them once more, this time about her warped cognition, and the stage is set for the fight. Sae teleports herself to the arena, and the battle begins. It’s much easier than it was last time, but the whole roulette wheel aspect is still incredibly annoying. As soon as he can pretend to have “figured out” the trick, he sends Goro to go snipe the glass, and they continue on their merry way. Sae, however, is enraged by this, and morphs into her Leviathan form. Makoto is understandably horrified, but the fight should go more smoothly now. Her affinity changes don’t bother Akira too much with Satanael’s resistances, and they’re lucky enough for Sae’s roulette wheel to never land on one of the team’s weaknesses. Finally, after taking more than a few blows, Sae changes to almighty attacks, and starts hitting harder than ever. They eventually strike her down, and her shadow falls to the ground. Makoto rushes over. They have a quiet conversation, which is suddenly interrupted by Futaba receiving enemy readings. Now or never. The rest of the Thieves rush out one way, and Akira the other.

He runs down the halls of the casino, taking the same route he did last time. Now that this is his second time doing this, he’s much more confident about where the blind spots and what not are. Eventually, he gets himself up on the light fixtures hanging from the ceiling, and dashes across them. He gets stopped by a couple guards in the same area he did last time, and after speaking with Arsene briefly, completely crushes them. Akira jumps up, and returns back into the back hallways. After running through some more, and narrowly dodging some black suits, Akira comes across the same hallway he met Sumire in last time. Shadows surround him, but he stays calm. A familiar, quiet click of heels echoes throughout the room, and then there’s the whiz of something sharp being thrown past his head. The Shadows turn to Sumire, and charge. She handles the ones coming at her effortlessly.

“Senpai, let us handle the rest of them. It’s my turn to help you!” she declares, and that is exactly what they do. After a quick chat, Sumire disappears into the ceiling rafters, and Akira keeps running. He keeps on running, even once those guards corner him. He keeps running, and hurls himself through the huge stained glass window. 

“You still like to show off, huh?” he hears Goro’s voice crackle. He lands on the ground, and is greeted by a horde of cops and floodlights following his every move. He tries to run. He can’t. He jumps up on the same latter he used last time. As expected, there’s a cop up there too, who roughly shoves his boot into Akira’s chest, and he falls.

  
  
  


_ Confess… understand what you have done… _

  
  


_ Kurusu-kun, are you... hear me? _

  
  


_ This is truly an unjust game…. _

  
  


_ Sae-san. Please listen to me… _

  
  
  
  


_ Can you talk? Akira. Akira, it’s me. What the hell did they put into you? Damn it, Akira, say something! What are you- Akira… that’s not what I asked you to do.  _


	74. Chapter 74

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was listening to "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" on loop while writing this chapter. Do with that information as you will.

Akechi storms down the underground hallway, his stride methodical. He knows Akira’s down here already, and that Sae-san’s started her interrogation. One of Shido’s paper-pushers told him so. Was it the one that is going to falsify Akira’s transfer into the morgue? It doesn’t matter at this point. There’s a few other officers that he passes in the halls. None of them pay him much notice, and some of them might even know what he’s supposed to be here for. After a series of winding hallways, he finally makes it to his destination. The officer, the one he killed last time, stands at watch. Only when he looks over at Akechi does he seem to come back to reality.

“Please let me in. Special orders.” Akechi says nicely, and the guard gives him a funny look.

“You do know that Niijima-san is still in there with the Phantom Thief-”

“I don’t care. And, if I were you,” Akechi takes a good, long look at the guard, “you have kids, right?” 

“Huh? Y-yeah? What about them?”

“If you want to keep them and yourself safe, I’d suggest leaving now, and never coming back. Go into hiding. I don’t care. Let me in, god damn it.” Akechi says, fully dropping his ‘nice’ act. The guard’s eyes are terrified. Good, hopefully he truly understand what could happen. But it’s not like anything will, as long as he lets Akechi in, and lets Akechi and Sae-san get Akira out. Once Shido falls, Akechi will figure out some way to thank him. The guard nods, and walks away, whistling in the way someone does when they’re ignoring a situation at hand. The door is opened slightly, and Akechi walks in. 

Sae-san whips around in her chair, and stares at Akechi. Akira sits across from her, his head resting on one of his hands. So Sae-san’s cognition of Akira wasn’t exaggerated last time. Akira’s a sight for sore eyes, but he also looks like total shit.  _ They really did a number on him, huh,  _ Akechi thinks. Akira looks up at him. His eyes are hazy, and Akechi can’t tell whether or not he even recognizes him. Akira’s cognitive form hadn’t looked like it had recognized him, either. 

“Goro Akechi-kun! Are you even listening to me?” Sae-san snaps at him.

“My apologies, Sae-san,” Akechi says. Sae-san’s face contorts into a scowl.

“This is my case. This is MY interrogation! I’m going to ask you one last time. Why are you here?”

“Confidential,” Akechi says, “I’m just here to supervise.” Sae-san shakes her head, but turns back to Akira, and continues talking. Sae-san gets Akira talking about what happened during Kaneshiro’s Palace, and Akechi zones out. He just needs to come back to the present when they start talking about Sae-san’s Palace. Or maybe when they talk about Okumura. A part of him is tempted to listen to the whole thing, in order to ignore that gnawing, guilty feeling sitting on his back. Remember how happy you felt the last time, when you saw Akira’s body hit the table? it says. Remember how you thought your plan was flawless? it says. Remember how you were so pathetic that you thought that going along with Shido’s ideas would help you get his trust? it says. Remember that you’re still pathetic, it says. Akechi grits his teeth. He should have come here later. All he can do is forcefully silent his mind. It comes at a cost though, as now he can hear the various Personas he’s got cooped up in his head. Some are screeching, but a couple are talking amongst one another. Like always, Hereward is totally silent. 

“So your Phantom Thieves didn’t go after Okumura’s life, nor did they go after Kobayakawa’s? Even though we found a calling card for him?” Akira nods, and Sae-san sighs, “You don’t sound like you’re making things up.” Was Akechi out mentally for that long? He shakes his head, and pulls himself back together. Sae-san talks to herself a bit, and seems to realize that Akira isn’t lying to her. 

“But to try to prove your innocence, your next target was,” Sae-san says, and Akira’s head rolls forward. He quickly catches himself, and shakes his head, but Sae-san’s already standing over him.

“What in the world! Kurusu-kun, can you hear me? Stay focused!” Sae-san says, and once Akira seems to be okay, they return to the topic of her Palace. Sae-san places her calling card on the table. 

“Why me? Tell me everything.” Sae-san says, and even though Akira doesn’t turn, Akechi can feel him looking at him from the corner of his eye. Akechi nods slightly, and whatever haze Akira’s in right now must have cleared enough for him to acknowledge that gesture. Akira starts talking, and isn’t afraid to mention Akechi’s name more than a few times. Sae-san’s face goes through a few waves of realization, and she glances over at Akechi whenever his name is mentioned. Once Akira finishes his story, she leans forward, and ponders for a bit.

“You went into this knowing full well that this was going to be a set up? And Akechi-kun willingly  _ told  _ you all of this?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“It had to be done.” Akira says. His voice is still shockingly steady. 

“Why? Is this for some greater goal? You do realize that you’ll most likely be walking out of here with a life sentence, or the death penalty,” Sae-san says. Akira’s face is stone. Akechi’s about ready to grab Akira and run, but he knows he needs to hold off. He needs to trust Akira, but he needs to think. Akechi closes his eyes briefly-

-and opens them back up in that warped version of the Velvet Room. Yaldabaoth’s brought him here increasingly frequently as of late. It’s no surprise why; Yaldabaoth thinks it’ll get him on his side somehow. The Twins aren’t here, and neither is the desk. It’s just Yaldigor, floating in the air. 

_ Even now, you think about saving Igor’s pawn. What good is that going to do for you? _

“I need him, and he doesn’t really need me, but I’m useful enough,” Akechi mumbles. Yaldigor tips his head to the side.

_ So you simply allow yourself to be controlled by him? _

“He doesn’t control me.” 

_ How can you be so sure? Isn’t that exactly what you thought about Shido? _

“I’ve always known Shido’s been controlling me. Akira doesn’t. I know what control feels like.” Yaldigor’s expression remains frozen, but he can feel his eyes narrow. 

_ You are not beyond salvation, Goro Akechi. Not yet. You can still turn back.  _

And his eyes snap open. Sae-san’s looking at him quizzically. 

“Kurusu-kun… Akechi-kun… And a mastermind. But Akechi-kun, what were you talking about? What does Shido have to do with anything?” Fuck. Yaldabaoth was trying to purposefully make him slip up. Akira doesn’t look as steady as he did earlier. Did he get a surprise Velvet Room visit too? Sae-san shakes her head.

“We’re running out of time here. There’s one final thing I want to ask you, and by extension, I’m asking you too, Akechi-kun. I’ve been removed from my role as the head of this investigation, and was told to stand down. And then, just a few days later, I get the word that the Phantom Thieves have gotten caught in the act. And you not only knew that this was all a set up, but you went through with it, and seem to know exactly who set you up. Who did?” Akira looks at Sae-san in the eye, and Akechi looks over at her too. Almost as if they had a shared thought.

“I want to make a deal with you.”

“I want to make a deal with you.” they say in unison. She looks utterly confused. Akira looks over at Akechi, and nods. 

“Tell me. I don’t want things to end like this!” Sae-san says. Akechi takes over the conversation.

“Sae-san. Please listen to me. There is a greater puppeteer out there. One that wants everyone in this room dead. We’re all threats to him, you know?”

“Him..? Don’t tell me…”

“I remember your sister had a very similar reaction. Simply put, he ordered the Thieves to be sold out, and now thinks that the threat of the Thieves is eliminated forever. But, the deception was needed-”

“So that you could exact revenge, and take down the true culprit, I assume?”

“Something along those lines. And besides, Sae-san, you said it yourself that strange things have been happening with assignments. And I’m certain you’ve noticed some bizarre inconsistencies in your data. He’s the reason.”

“What do you want from me then? To sneak Kurusu-kun out of here or something?” 

“Precisely. I’ve managed to gather some key intel that they are going to frame murdering him as a suicide.” Sae-san’s face blinks to a horrified one before settling back to neutrality. Of course, it’s easy to get said intel when you’re supposed to be the one carrying out the task. 

“Help us. It’s for the sake of justice,” Akira mumbles. Sae-san thinks on this for a moment.

“Justice…? Very well. I’ve listened to your whole story. Maybe I should entertain you to the end. Our time is up, anyway,” Sae-san says as she gets up out of her chair, “I will be back. Be ready to go.” As soon as she leaves, Akira slumps in his chair.

“I need to make a phone call to Shido, but we could leave right now, you know?” Akechi says, but Akira shakes his head.

“We need Sae,” Akira says. Seems like he was using the last of his strength earlier. Akechi simply nods, and pulls his phone out to call Shido. He picks up almost immediately. 

“Shido-san, the deed has been done,” Akechi says, shifting into his ‘Shido’ tone.

“I told you not to call me by name. Who knows who could be listening in? But all that’s left is to deal with the remaining members.”

“Indeed. I was thinking ‘unfortunate accidents’ would be the way to go.”

“Are you certain they won’t try to avenge him?”

“Positive.”

“Good. That settles that. And what of the SIU Director?” Akechi had forgotten about him. 

“I think he still has some use for us before he succumbs to any strange illnesses. I’m going to be fairly busy making my statements on the suicide in the next few days, anyway.” With how much Yaldabaoth’s been telling him about control, Akechi feels in the mood to rebel. The Director won’t be having a mental shutdown this time. It’s the least Akechi can do. 

“Don’t disappoint me,” Shido says, and the call drops. Akechi’s surprised he didn’t lash out at him. Maybe he’s already figured out that something’s up. It’s no bother to Akechi at this point. Shido will pay. Then, the chains in his mind snap, bringing the Devil to rank 8. Akechi looks over at Akira, who’s got a blank look on his face.

“Hate it when you do that.” is all Akira says. A couple minutes pass, and Sae-san’s still not back. Akechi’s about ready to give up, when a familiar blue butterfly lands on the interrogation table.

_ Thank… you… Tricksters…  _ It labors to say, and then flies off to somewhere. Once it disappears, Sae-san walks in the door. Once more, he hears the sound of chains snapping, and the Hierophant Arcana maxes out. 

“Kurusu-kun, can you stand?” Sae-san says, and he gets up unsteadily. Sae-san looks at Akechi.

“Help him,” she says, “If I’m to understand correctly, this deal is me helping you two in exchange for ensuring justice is enacted on the true culprit and ringleader, yes?” Akechi nods, and then goes over to prop up Akira so he can walk. Sae-san leads them out. Thankfully, there don’t seem to be any guards around, and they get outside and into a taxi. Akechi tells the driver to go to Leblanc in Yongen-Jaya, and prays that they weren’t caught by some bored security guard watching the security cameras. Once they get close to Yongen-Jaya, the little news screen in the back of the taxi lights up with a breaking news headline, announcing Akira’s death. Akechi thought Akira had fallen asleep, but Akira laughing quietly at the announcement disproves that theory. He looks like he’s completely slipped back into his haze, though. Whatever drug they used was definitely nasty, and there’s no way to know how much is running through him right now.

When they walk into Leblanc, Sakura-san’s white as a sheet. He looks back and forth between the TV, still chattering on about Akira’s death, and Akira, who’s currently propped up on Akechi’s side. 

“I’m not… seeing things, right?” Sakura-san says.

“No, you’re not. I expect you’ll be able to keep him safe and out of public view, yes?” Sae-san says, and Sakura-san nods. Sae-san then walks out, leaving Akira and Akechi standing there rather awkwardly. 

“Sheesh, they really did a number on you, huh?” Sakura-san says, “You get him upstairs, okay? Then come back down here, I need to talk with you.” Akechi nods, and guides Akira upstairs. Akira sits down on his bed, and once he seems to be fine, Akechi heads back downstairs. Sakura-san has a cup of coffee waiting for him in his usual spot. 

“It’s almost like you kids are trying to kill me,” Sakura-san says, “First they announce that he’s killed himself, and then you just waltz right on in with him.”

“My apologies,” Akechi says, and he takes a sip of his coffee. It’s not what Akira usually makes for him, but it’s good enough. It feels utterly strange though. He doesn’t know if Sakura-san ever found out last time about what he did to Isshiki, but it still doesn’t feel right that he’s being nice to him. 

“I had a feeling you kids were going to do something stupid. Don’t apologize though. At least he’s actually alive.” 

“Yes.”

Sakura-san sighs deeply, and then says, “Thank you.”

“What for?”

“I’m still rather upset because of how beat up he is, but thank you for getting him out of there. I don’t know how you did it, nor do I want to know. I’m gonna close up shop and leave some curry on the stove. You should probably go check on him once you’re done.” Sakura-san says. Akechi nods, finishes the rest of his coffee, and goes upstairs.

Akechi’s greeted by the sight of Akira still on his bed with his back to the wall, staring straight forward, his eyes blank once more. 

“Hey,” Akechi says. No response. Akechi shakes his shoulders a little. Akira looks at him but still doesn’t respond. Akechi sits down, and faces Akira. 

“Can you talk? Akira. Akira, it’s me,” still no response, “What the hell did they put into you?” Akechi gets frustrated, “Damn it, Akira, say something!” Some flicker of recognition passes through Akira’s face. Akira sits up, and leans forward.

“What are you-” Akira kisses him, and slumps back down into the position he was in earlier. Akechi freezes.

“Akira… that’s not what I asked you to do,” Akechi says, and immediately realizes he sounds like an idiot. But, Akira’s not in the right frame of mind right now. 

“Going to sleep now,” Akira mumbles, and slumps further down onto his bed. Akechi gets up, and lets him shift into a comfortable position. Once he’s settled, Akechi stands in the middle of the room, and stares at the wall behind the couch. His mind’s running at a mile a minute. Why would Akira do that now? Akechi doesn’t deserve anything like that. Was it just some sick joke? No. Him and Akira never said that they were dating, but they seem to be. And Akira doesn’t joke like that. Plus, he’s high as a kite right now, so whatever impared judgement of his wasn’t enough to stop him from doing that. But still-

His phone buzzes.

**Spooky Scary Phantom Thieves Round 2**

**6:47 pm**

**Panther: Earth to Akira Kurusu!!!!!!**

**Panther: Earth to Goro Akechi!!!**

**Queen: Is everything okay?**

**Oracle: they made it to leblanc at least!**

**Skull: is akira okay???????**

**Fox: I would like to know as well.**

**Oracle: mona’s worried too!!!**

**Noir: The news still shook me quite a bit…**

**Crow: We’re fine.**

**Crow: Sae-san got us out of there.**

**Queen: Oh, thank goodness.**

**Skull: but is akira okay**

**Crow: He’s a little worse for wear, but he’s still breathing.**

**Crow: He’s sleeping right now, which is for the best.**

**Skull: what happened to him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

**Crow: Well, he seems to have been drugged, at minimum.**

**Crow: I can’t tell the full extent of his injuries right now, but I’ll ask him once he’s awake.**

**Noir: Do you need any of us to come around?**

**Crow: I think for now it will be best to let him rest.**

**Fox: Understood.**

Akira’s fallen asleep, but his phone is buzzing rather loudly. Akechi walks over to it, finds it, and moves it to another part of the room where it won’t be so disturbing. As he’s putting it down, he notices the names of those who’ve texted him:  _ Chihaya Mifune, Munehisa Iwai, Tae Takemi, Sadayo Kawakami, Ichiko Ohya, Shinya Oda, Hifumi Togo, Yuuki Mishima, Toranosuke Yoshida, Sumire Yoshizawa.  _ Some are names he recognizes, some he doesn’t. He doesn’t want to leave them hanging, but he doesn’t know Akira’s password, and that would be a breach of privacy anyway. So he sits next to Akira, and waits for him to wake up. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How's that for a slow burn?


	75. Chapter 75

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Sorry for disappearing for so long! School is slowly murdering me.
> 
> 2\. This chapter is entirely self indulgent.

Akira ever so slowly becomes aware of his surroundings. He can feel the hard press of his bed against his back. A good sign. He feels sore, bruised and definitely has a headache, but at least the brain fog seems to be gone. He doesn’t want to open his eyes just yet, so he takes a moment to recollect his thoughts. If he’s here, that means he made it through the interrogation just fine. He doesn’t know whether or not they got Sae on their side though. Oh, wait, there’s a way he can check. He shuffles to the part of his mind that holds what he uses to visualize his bonds, and checks Judgement. It’s maxed out. Good. As he flips back through his confidants, something catches his eye. What had happened between him and Goro that bumped the Justice arcana up to rank 10? He desperately tries to wrack his brain, but it’s all a blur. Not much else he can do now other than open his eyes and sit up.

“Oh, look who’s finally awake,” Goro says almost immediately, “I was actually almost worried there.” It’s dark in the room, but his phone is lighting up his face from across the room. Seems like he decided to sit on the couch and wait for Akira to wake up. 

“What time is it?” Akira asks, and Goro glances down at his phone again.

“12:34. If you’re wondering how long you’ve been out, it’s been roughly 6 or so hours. By the way, you probably should respond to your friends. They seem to be rather concerned about you. Oh, and also, there’s curry downstairs.” Goro says. He seems a bit worked up about something. What on earth happened earlier? Akira fully pulls himself into a seated position, which hurts more than it should, and looks over at Goro.

“Before I do all of that, care to fill me in on what happened?” Akira says.

“How much do you remember in the first place?”

“Uh, let’s go with nothing on that one.”

“That’s good,” Goro mutters, “Anyway, you got beat up by the cops, and got through the interrogation with Sae-san. Before we got you out of there, Lavenza came to thank us, and then we took you back here. That’s it.” Okay, he’s definitely hiding something. Goro’s blunt, but definitely not this blunt. Akira thinks on his best course of action here. He could of course drop the topic and go get some curry, but he isn’t like that. 

“So, uh, would you care to explain why we’re at rank 10 now?” Akira says, and Goro freezes. He has a blank expression for a couple of seconds, but then returns back to reality. 

“When did…? Oh. Oh, well, isn’t that funny.” Goro says flatly, “You’re absolutely certain you don’t remember anything?” Akira tries to remember, and a small piece of something comes back to him.

“I just remembered you asking me to do… something, not sure what, and then you told me that that wasn’t something I was supposed to do.” Goro sighs in response. Okay, Goro Akechi, what’s going on with you? Akira thinks. You’re trying to avoid something.

“Oh, okay. You know, you should probably eat something.” Goro says. Akira isn’t going to try to press further right now, and he gets up. His headache isn’t helped by the sudden head rush he gets as he stands, but he’s able to stay standing. His body hurts. He should probably take a trip down to the bathroom soon too to check on any bruises he got. As he makes his way towards the stairs, Goro gets off of the couch and follows behind Akira, their footsteps the only thing breaking the silence of Leblanc. Once Akira and Goro make it into the main cafe area, Akira tries to walk into the kitchen to grab himself some curry, but is stopped by Goro’s hand on his shoulder.

“Go sit,” is all Goro says, and Akira listens. A couple minutes later, Goro reemerges from the kitchen area, holding a plate of curry. He unceremoniously plunks it down in front of Akira, and goes to sit next to him. Maybe a change of scene will get him to open up about what happened. Akira has some fledgling suspicions about what happened, especially considering how standoffish Goro’s acting right now. Something made him uncomfortable, whether it be bad or good, and he doesn’t know how to process it. 

“I have you all figured out, Goro Akechi,” Akira mumbles.

“Hm? Did you say something?” 

“No.”  
“Well, then. Did you text those friends of yours back yet?”

“Oh, no, thanks for the reminder,” Akira says, and he opens his phone’s chat app. He takes a quick picture of himself, and sends it off to everyone who’s texted him, along with a “I’m alive, don’t worry” text. Once he’s done with that, he turns back to Goro, who’s fiddling with his own phone. 

“Did I do something bad earlier? You seem upset,” Akira says. Goro hesitates for a few seconds.

“It wasn’t bad,” Goro says, and then pinches the bridge of his nose, “Just… surprising.”

“What was it then?”

“Uh.”

An idea crosses into Akira’s mind, and he says, “What, it’s not like I kissed you or something.” A total gamble, and Akira’s almost certain that he didn’t do that, but it’ll hopefully motivate him to correct him. But much to Akira’s surprise, Goro looks down and away, just a bit embarrassed. Like all other moments of Goro dropping his facades, it’s utterly alien to Akira seeing him like this, but he’s glad that he gets to. 

“Did I?” Akira says.

“Yeah, you did,” Goro says. Well then. Certainly explains that rank up.

“I’m sorry if I-”

“You didn’t. But considering you weren’t in your right mind at the time, I was surprised by it, and I didn’t want to make you upset if I told you about it.” Goro says plainly. Nice sentiments, sure, and most likely true, but there’s definitely another reason that Goro didn’t bring it up.

“You’re embarrassed by this-”

“Shut it, Joker.” Goro says, and Akira laughs, which turns into a yawn. Seems like he’s still tired, even with sleeping as much as he did earlier.

“I’m gonna go use the bathroom and go back to sleep,” Akira says, and Goro nods slowly. 

“I should sleep, myself. My phone’s already getting blown up by the damn TV studios about interviews tomorrow. Or, well, today.” Goro says, and lets Akira pass. Akira goes to wash his plate, and once he turns back around to walk to the bathroom, Goro’s already disappeared upstairs. Akira slinks into the bathroom to check himself out. As expected, his face is scratched up, and he’s got some nasty bruises along his side. He faintly remembers getting kicked out of the chair he was in now too, so that makes sense. He can’t find anything else that looks worryingly bad, so he returns upstairs. Goro’s back on the couch, and Akira settles into his own bed. Before he falls asleep, he shoots a text out to the Phantom Thief chat. 

**Spooky Scary Phantom Thieves Round 2**

**1:22 am**

**Joker: seeing as i am now going to be faking my death for the foreseeable future until we take shido down would anyone like to come over tomorrow**

**Joker: we can make fun of goro’s interviews**

**Skull: hes alive!**

**Skull: he speaks!**

**Crow: Not for much longer if he doesn’t go to sleep soon.**

**Oracle: are yall still at leblanc**

**Oracle: oh you are**

**Joker: tfw you get spied on by your own homies**

**Joker: you wound me so :(**

**Crow: That’s it.**

**Crow: Seems like you’re not fully done processing the drugs in your system.**

**Crow: I’m taking your phone away, you need to sleep.**

**Joker: ok but before you do does anyone want to come over tomorrow**

**Oracle: like im not always over there!**

**Skull: ill be there too**

**Skull: the others are probs sleeping**

**Crow: Yes. Good night.**

As expected, Goro gets up off of the couch, and comes over to Akira’s bed, holding his hand out expectantly.

“Am I really going to have to do this, or are you going to go back to sleep?” Goro says.

“I’m gonna sleep,” Akira says, and Goro makes it halfway back to the couch before an idea pops into Akira’s head, “Hey, Goro?”

“What?”

“Can you come over here?” Goro obliges, and walks over so he’s standing in front of the side of Akira’s bed. Akira gives his arm a quick tug, and he seems to get the message, no words needed. 

“Just a warning, I am going to need to get up early tomorrow,” Goro says as he crawls in next to Akira.

“It’s fine- Hey, watch the side!”

“Sorry.” Once they’re both comfortable, Akira closes his eyes again, and falls into dreamless sleep. 

He wakes up what feels like seconds later. Goro’s rolled onto him in such a way that he’s got an elbow digging right into his bruised side, which hurts like hell, but he manages to untangle himself. He doesn’t feel too tired anymore, so he decides to screw around on his phone for a while. Those seconds were actually hours, anyway, but it’s still earlier in the morning than he expected. Goro’s still asleep, as far as Akira can tell. He seems to flip between being a light and a heavy sleeper, and Akira doesn’t want to gamble with that right now. 

A few hours later, whatever alarm Goro had set goes off, and he gets up off the bed. 

“Anything special you want me to say on TV?” Goro says as he looks back from the top step of the staircase.

“Come out as a Phanboy, Goro Akechi,” Akira says, and Goro scowls. 

“You’re insufferable.”

“I know.” Akira smiles, and Goro sighs heavily. 

“ _ Well _ , I need to go change so I can properly celebrate the death of the beloved leader of the Phantom Thieves on national TV.”

“Have fun.” Akira says, and Goro disappears downstairs. Akira should start getting ready himself, since Futaba and Sojiro will be around soon.


	76. Chapter 76

“Akechi-kun, you just  _ have  _ to tell us your reaction to hearing the news!” the announcer says in a far too chipper voice. Akechi cringes internally. He really should have realized last time the level of disgusting fervor, albeit negative, surrounding this situation. Perhaps it was because he was essentially celebrating his death, too. Akechi pushes that thought out of his mind, and snaps a fake smile back on his face.

“Well, it was certainly a surprise to me! I would have thought that a so-called ‘hero of justice’ would’ve fought to the bitter end.” Akechi says, and the announcers nod vigorously. Akira must be at home laughing at him right now. Akechi’s doing all he can to not have his fake smile slip into an obvious grimace due to the announcers’ idiotic reactions. 

“Are you relieved now that the case is over, Akechi-kun?” the other announcer leans forwards and asks. Akechi carefully leans forward, places his hand on his chin, and pulls a contemplative look. 

“I do hope that it resolves the issue of the mental shutdowns, but I wouldn’t call what I feel right now ‘relief.’”

“Oh? What is it then?”

“Well, the case consumed my life for quite the long amount of time, as you all know,”  _ smile for the audience _ , “and it gave me the opportunity to meet many fascinating individuals. So, I would simply say that my feelings on the matter are mixed.” If Sakura-san’s with Akira right now, Akechi’s almost certain that she just elbowed him and mockingly called Akira a ‘fascinating individual.’ 

“That’s very understandable, Akechi-kun. Before we move onto the next actual question, I have my own question I’ve been curious about for a while,” the first announcer says. This could be anything, which worries Akechi, especially since this announcer has a tendency to ask him relationship questions. Having anything at all slip out about Akira, even though his name wasn’t released to the public, could be bad news for them both. Akechi nods. Not answering whatever question she has would be a bad look. 

Thankfully, that’s not what she asks, and instead she says, “Akechi-kun, in the past you’ve said some strangely complimentary things regarding the Phantom Thieves. Could that be part of the reason why you’re having such mixed feelings, as you said?”

“That could be part of the reason, but who truly knows? The news is rather fresh, after all. Also,” Akechi makes sure to not ignore the part about him complimenting the Phantom Thieves, “I admired the Phantom Thieves simply because they seemed to have had some sense of justice. I wholly disagree with their methodology, however. I’m no Phan-boy, after all,” Akechi says with a pointed look at the camera. Akira better be watching. If he is, he’s probably laughing his ass off right now. Akechi would be too, after all. He must sound so hypocritical. 

“I see… You are a detective after all, so you must understand people who seek justice. Now, what do you plan to do now? Are you going to find the next hot case, or are you going to return to your studies?” Of course, Akechi could always be truthful here.  _ Well, Mr. Announcer who I don’t particularly care for, I’m going to go jump into the physical manifestation of my shitlord father’s consciousness with the Phantom Thieves and hopefully stop myself from killing him with my own two hands, and instead force a change of heart. Then, I’m going to go down to the depths of what is essentially hell with them, and kill that damn god that keeps meddling with mine and Akira’s business. Who’s Akira you ask? Well, he’s the leader of those wretched Phantom Thieves, and since you’re all so nosy about my relationship status, I’ll give you the satisfaction of knowing that your sweet Detective Prince and the dastardly leader of the Phantom Thieves have a thing. And guess who’s also a Phantom Thief? Me, of course. And then, after dealing with that, some man with a messiah complex is going to try to rewrite reality into something horrific. Wait, did I just call myself a Phantom Thief?  _ he could say. 

But instead, he smiles nicely, and says, “I’d like to return to my studies, and maybe duck out of the spotlight for a while.”

“Celebrity can get quite exhausting, doesn’t it?”

“Indeed.” 

“Well, do you have any remaining comments, Akechi-kun?”

“I don’t believe I do. I hope you all have a wonderful, safe day!” Akechi forces himself to say, and the small live audience applauds. He walks offstage and ducks back into his dressing room as quickly as he can. As far as he knows, he shouldn’t have any other meetings today, but of course his phone has to go off with calls from Shido as soon as he sits down. He puts down the makeup wipe he was holding, and answers the phone. 

“Yes, sir?” Akechi says. Sakura-san’s bug better be working. He should’ve asked her about it. 

“When are you going to take care of the SIU director? We still have loose ends with him that need to be dealt with, you understand?

“Soon, sir. Things are still a bit hectic here, for obvious reasons. I will find the time very soon, I promise.”

“Promises aren’t good enough. You get a week. You do understand what could happen if you don’t, correct?”

“Understood.”

“Don’t disappoint me.” and the call drops. Akechi sighs, and picks up the abandoned makeup wipe. It’s got some dust on it from the table. Whatever, it’s good enough for him. As he’s working on taking the layer that his producers insist on him wearing, Akira texts the Phantom Thieves group chat.

**Spooky Scary Phantom Thieves Round 2**

**2:49 pm**

**Joker: thanks to that glowing performance from our resident TV star, we should be in the clear for now**

**Oracle: if thats glowing to you im very scared to know what acting you consider perfect**

**Crow: I’m very aware that I come off as fake.**

**Crow: It still baffles me that people aren’t able to see through it all, though.**

**Crow: Anyway, I would like to propose a meeting at the hideout.**

**Skull: iwas already planning on comin anyway i miss akira**

**Panther: It’s been two days….**

**Skull: too long to be away from the bros**

**Joker: i missed you guys**

**Panther: I’m free though so I’ll come!**

**Panther: Sounds like something important is up anyway**

**Joker: correct**

**Crow: Correct.**

**Skull: same brain….**

**Queen: Must I remind you that we are in class?**

**Noir: Thank you Mako-chan! Ill be there though :)**

**Queen: I’ll also be there.**

**Fox: My apologies for being late, but I will be there too.**

**Joker, Crow**

**November 21, 20XX**

**2:56 pm**

**Crow: I’m done for the day.**

**Crow: I need to talk to you about something.**

**Joker: whats up?**

**Crow: Can you ask Sakura-san to let you listen to the most recent phone call that came in on my other phone?**

**Joker: yeah sure one second**

**Crow: Thank you.**

**Joker: did he have a shutdown last time? I dont remember anything about that**

**Crow: He did. And I guess I’ve finally grown a conscious, because I’d rather that not happen.**

**Joker: i see**

**Joker: what involvement do you want me to have in whatever youre plotting**

**Crow: You don’t need to help if you don’t want to, especially considering the state you’re in right now.**

**Joker: im fine**

**Crow: Oh, really? Then why don’t we go into you know who’s Palace right now?**

**Joker: i am suddenly no longer fine**

**Crow: It’s so easy to prove your point when you’re in the right.**

**Joker: >:|**

**Crow: Anyway, I was going to try to do a more… malicious? I guess that’s the right word. A more malicious change of heart.**

**Joker: you gonna try to intimidate his shadow so much that it goes back to his body and he drops off the map or something**

**Crow: Precisely.**

**Crow: I love having someone who can understand without me needing to say anything.**

**Crow: See you at Leblanc.**

**Joker: <3**

**Crow: I do not understand.**

**Joker: It’s a heart, Goro Akechi. A sign of affection.**

Akechi sighs and puts his phone back into his pocket. He probably should’ve responded to that text, but he’s getting on the train. There are far too many eyes in this car that could possibly see his screen on accident. He really should buy one of those privacy films for his phone. Then again, once Shido gets what he deserves, Akechi’s planning on dropping off the map himself. It really shouldn’t matter who sees his phone screen. Didn’t Akira say that his hometown was in the middle of nowhere? No. Snap out of it, Akechi. It’d be a pipe dream for Akechi to move into Leblanc, much less follow Akira back to his hometown. He’ll just leave Tokyo, go get the smallest place he can find in the middle of nowhere, and- No. Unless Akira kicks the bucket, Akechi knows that Akira probably won’t let him shut himself away like that. 

Akechi gets off the train, and walks down the backstreets to Leblanc. It must be nice living here, away from the usual Tokyo hustle. Whatever. He has work he needs to get done. He can’t be dreaming of hypotheticals now. He ducks down Leblanc’s side alley, and walks inside. Sakura-san’s sitting in one of the booths, typing away at that laptop she almost always seems to have. The older Sakura-san doesn’t seem to be here, and Akira’s replaced him behind the counter. Akechi goes to sit down in his spot, and before he’s totally settled, he notices Sakura-san flip her headphones up onto her head. Akechi sighs. At least she seems to be a bit more respectful of privacy now.

“You look tired,” Akira says, and then he winces slightly. 

“And you don’t seem like you should be active right now. Which one of us is the one that’s legally dead?” Akechi shoots back.

“Touché. Want coffee?”  
“When have I _ever_ said no?”

“Fair,” Akira says, and he gets back to whatever he was doing. Akechi likes watching him work, but he still doesn’t understand the process in the slightest. Akira would probably happily explain it to him though, but that’s a matter for another time. Sakura-san’s started talking, anyway.

“So, when are you two going to Mementos?” she says. Seems like Akechi was wrong about her respecting their privacy. Akira drops something. 

“Futaba, why do you have to do that…” Akira groans, and Akechi hears a muffled laugh from behind him.

“Considering Shido’s given me a week, I was going to go tomorrow, most likely,” Akechi answers. He just wants to get this over with.

“Surprising honesty from the detective!” Sakura-san says, “Anyway, I’m going with you two.” Akira glances over at Akechi, and Akechi returned his befuddled expression with an equally surprised expression. 

“Why, may I ask? This would probably be better the less people there are-”

“Just to make sure you really don’t kill his Shadow, Detective,” Sakura-san says.

“Fair.” Akechi says. Why is she sticking her nose in their business now, of all times? Akira’s still got a slightly confused look on his face, but then it snaps to some sort of odd realization, and his expression settles. 

“Epiphany, Joker?” Akechi whispers.

“Tell you later.” 

“What’re you two whispering about?” 

“Nothing,” Akechi says, “Anyway, Sakura-san, I would do it tonight, but I’m waiting on Akira to recover. I called this meeting to discuss Shido-” 

“Hi! Sorry if we’re late!” Takamaki says, cutting off Akechi’s sentence. The rest of the Phantom Thieves pile into their usual spots, and Morgana pops out from under the table. Akechi hadn’t even noticed he was there. Akira starts asking around if anyone wants anything, like the dutiful little host he is, and once everyone’s settled in with a cup of coffee, or soda, in the case of Sakamoto, Akira and Akechi flip their chairs around to face the group.

“So, we’re here to discuss Shido-san’s Palace, correct?” Niijima says, and Akechi almost wants to stop her due to her use of the honorific. He deserves nothing. Akira nods. 

“Akira, considering your current condition, I would like to place my trust in you to decide when we shall start our infiltration,” Kitagawa says. 

“What’s our deadline, anyway?” Sakamoto says. 

“If he’s running for Prime Minister, then that would make it election day, right? When is it again?” Takamaki says. Akechi’s come to realize that she’s quite a bit smarter than he initially thought. 

“The bastard has made it clear that it’s on December 18th, which means we need to send the-”

“We need to have our infiltration route secured and the calling card sent on the 17th, right guys?” Morgana says. 

“It all connects back to this one man…” Kitagawa mumbles, and out of the corner of his eye Akechi sees Akira flinch slightly. Kitagawa’s right, but it all circles back to one god, not just one man. And who knows? Considering Maruki’s… episode, there’s certainly plenty of gods with the desire for control. It’s ironic, considering how much Yaldabaoth taunts him for simply being a sack of desires. 

“Akechi-kun, you said you’ve been in his Palace, right? Akira, you said you had as well, right?” Niijima says, and both of them nod. 

“Yes, and when we went in, we didn’t go very far,” Akira says, and Akechi watches Sakura-san narrow her eyes at him. Akechi has a feeling deep in his gut that she’s getting a bit tired of their constant lying about what they actually know. Why did she have to be the one that found them out?

“But from what I can tell,” Akechi takes over, “is that the Palace is fairly large. You all should be strong enough to handle the Shadows at this point, but I did notice one thing we are going to need to keep an eye on,” Akira shoots him a look, “There does seem to be a cognitive version of myself, and it will most likely be hostile.”

“Futaba, you can track that for us, right? I don’t want to have a run in with however Shido sees Akechi-kun…” Takamaki says. It makes Akechi wonder for a split second. Is his cognitive form one of those Shadow/cognition amalgamations that the other ones were? No, it couldn’t be. Akechi’s a Persona user, he can’t have a Shadow. And yet, so is Maruki, and he has a full-blown Palace. 

“Yup! My Nav can get it done!” Sakura-san says brightly, “I don’t wanna run into anything like that either.” 

“The real Akechi’s already bad enough,” Sakamoto grumbles.

“I’m not deaf, you know,” Akechi says. 

“Akira, how long do you think it will be until you’re fully recovered? We should probably get this done as soon as we can, for the sake of my father at least,” Okumura-san says, breaking her silence. Akira takes a deep breath, and winces again.

“Well, since _that_ still hurts, I’d say like one more day, at least.”  
“Dude, seriously, what the hell did they do to you?” Sakamoto asks.

“Don’t remember. Drugs,” Akira says, and Sakamoto sighs. 

“Wish you caught their names at least so we could try to change their hearts,” Sakamoto says. 

“So, Akira, should we check in on how you’re doing tomorrow?” Niijima says, and Akira nods.

“The stuff that Takemi gave me seems to be helping,” Akira says.

“Well, is there anything else that anyone needs to talk about?” Takamaki asks, and everyone shakes their heads. 

“Then, we might as well go our separate ways for the night. Akira, would it be too much of a trouble if I could take some food to go?” Kitagawa asks, and Akira disappears into the back. The rest of the Thieves get ready to go, other than Sakura-san, who stays firmly planted. She’s probably sticking around to talk about their little Mementos mission. Once Kitagawa’s out the door, she shuts her laptop, and stands up.

“Remember!” is all she says to them, before turning to look down at the floor, “Come on kitty, let’s get going.”

“I’m not a cat-! Wait, does that mean Akechi’s spending the night, or…”

“It’s better to just assume it at this point. Let’s roll out, Mona!” Sakura-san says, and they both walk out the door. Akechi sighs, and stands up.

“You’re probably going to end up keeping a suitcase here,” Akira says, and then he wraps around Akechi from behind. Akechi freezes. Why is he freezing now? It’s not like they haven’t been this close together before.

“You’re awfully affectionate today,” Akechi says dumbly, and he feels Akira laugh behind him. 

“Also, if I see that cognitive version of you, I’m shooting it before it can do anything funny,” Akira says, withdrawing himself and walking up towards the stairs. Akechi follows behind him.

Before they fall asleep, while Akira’s downstairs in the bathroom, Akechi pulls out his phone. It’s not like he hasn’t checked this before, but since remembering the other cognitive beings in Shido’s Palace, he just wants to make sure. He opens the MetaNav, and types in ‘Goro Akechi.’ Nothing. He doesn’t remember the cognitive version of him transforming. He doesn’t remember much from then anyway. Just the shutter door closing, the gun pointed at him, the bang, and then waking up on Christmas Eve.

“What’s on your mind?” Akira says unexpectedly. His phone is still open to the MetaNav. Akira glances down at it. 

“It’s nothing,” Akechi mumbles, and puts his phone back into his pocket, “What was it that you were going to tell me?” 

“You tell me why you were looking at your own name in the MetaNav. I know you don’t like talking about this kind of stuff, but that’s worrying, Goro.” Damn you, Akira, for always being so concerned about anyone and anything.

“Just curious, considering we were talking about my cognitive self, after all. Theoretically, I would pop up on the Nav if the cognitive version in there was one of those cognition and shadow mixtures.” Akira seems to consider this for a second, and then nods. Good. He doesn’t think Akira should know that ever since Maruki’s Palace last time, he’s been checking for a Palace of his own. No one needs to know. 

“Well, then I guess I’ll say what I remembered earlier. One time, Futaba asked me to do a change of heart on someone, and she insisted that she come along too, and I thought it might’ve been something like that.”

“Who?”  
“She only wants me to know, and it was just me and her in Mementos.”  
“I see. Well, I think she just wants to be there as extra insurance, even though it’s not like I’m already bringing you along.” 

“Yeah,” Akira says, and then flops down on his bed. Akechi could really get used to this. Damn it, there he goes again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Goro Akechi continues to be a dumbass.


	77. Chapter 77

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while since I've done a thank you note, but I really want to thank everyone who takes the time out of their day to read this. I'm really sorry that the update schedule isn't what it used to be.
> 
> Also, happy late "Honey, I'm home day."

Akira walks down the stairs the next morning to an odd sight. Goro’s in his regular spot at the counter, and a few seats to his left, Sae is leisurely chatting with Sojiro. It’s not a shock that she’s here; In fact, Akira was wondering just when she would come around to visit. But still, it’s strangely jarring. Not because Sae is here, but because something in his brain is screaming about this scene being utterly wrong. At this point last time, Goro was long gone, and the Thieves were still reeling from the events that had transpired on the 20th. But now? Now it’s calm. They know their next target, and they have the time to almost… relax. It’s unnerving.

Once Akira reaches the main cafe area, Sae glances over at him and nods in acknowledgment. Akira nods back, and goes to take his seat next to Goro. He has no idea when Goro went downstairs, but considering he’s still wearing what he did when they fell asleep, he probably hasn’t been down here for very long at all. That, or Goro’s really stopped caring about his appearance in front of others. Maybe it’s because of Sae’s change of heart. Maybe, but then again, Goro in the real world seems a lot more chill now. Not much difference in Metaverse Goro, though.

“You’re looking better,” Sae says, dragging Akira out of his thoughts. 

“I feel a lot better, too. I can actually think straight and remember things now.”

Sae sighs, “Well, that’s a good thing.”

“I told you, Niijima-san, you bringing him in here looking how he did right after the announcement of his death nearly killed me,” Sojiro says, “I tell the kid to stay out of trouble, and then look what he does.”

“At least they seem to be doing it for some sort of justice, from what these two told me,” Sae says. 

“Would it be justice if I were to get a heart attack from all the stress he’s causing me? Sheesh… You want anything to eat?” Sojiro asks Akira, and before he can even answer, Sojiro’s already moved to the back of the kitchen. After some scraping noises, Sojiro emerges with a plate of curry, and sets it down in front of Akira. As soon as the curry hits the table, Sojiro takes Goro’s cup away to go refill it. 

“Ever the dutiful host,” Goro mumbles. He looks tired. 

“Are you okay?” Akira whispers. 

“It’s fine. Just dealing with some Velvet Room related things.”

“He’s still bothering you?”

“I think he’s finally dragged his head out of his shiny metal ass and realized I don’t want anything to do with him, so now he’s just trying even harder.” Sojiro returns with Goro’s coffee.

“Seems like he’s only focusing on you now. I haven’t heard a peep from him in weeks.”

“Typical,” Goro sips his coffee, “Anyway. Sae-san’s not wrong. Do you think you’re in good enough shape to go in today?”

“As long as we don’t end up in any really bad fights, it should be okay. Plus, with Futaba as back up…” Akira stops his sentence short. First, he’s remembered that Sae and Sojiro are still in here, and secondly, he glances over at the staircase to see Morgana walking down the stairs. He suddenly realizes that there’s a small, cat-shaped wrinkle in their plan.

“Something wrong, Akira?”

“I just realized something…” Morgana jumping up on the seat next to Akira stops him from finishing that thought. 

“Hmm? I thought you had left already, Akechi.” Morgana says. Akira looks over at Goro, who seems to have come to the same realization as him. If they bring Futaba along with them, then that means that either they’ll have to tell Morgana, or they’ll have to sneak there. 

“No, I haven’t. Akira and I were just discussing some things, that’s all,” Goro says with a smile. For as much as Goro complains about Akira being ‘telepathic,’ it would be really helpful right about now. 

“Is there something up?” Morgana asks. Sojiro sighs. Even though they told him about being able to understand Morgana, Sojiro probably still doesn’t totally get it.

“Not exactly,” Goro says, and after a quick glance at Akira, he says, “I have an order I need to complete, and I was discussing it with Akira.” Akira wasn’t expecting his honesty, but considering it was his problem originally, he’s allowed to do what he wants.

“Oh,” Morgana deflates, “Do all the Thieves need to get involved?” 

“No. Originally, I was just going to do it, but wanted Akira there as insurance, considering I’m going to attempt a change of heart this time.”

“Oh… Well, is there anyone else involved?”  
“Futaba managed to worm herself into it,” Akira butts into the conversation, but keeps his voice down. Sojiro and Sae are still lost in talking to each other, but it’s best to be safe. 

“Uh, well. I suppose unless you need me to get around, I’ll let you get to that. You better actually change this person’s heart though!” Morgana says, and then pointedly stares at Goro.

“I will try my best,” Goro says.

“You better,” and with that, Morgana’s off the stool and back upstairs. Goro sighs.

“Do you suppose she’s awake yet?” Goro asks, and right on cue, the cafe’s door opens, and Futaba shuffles in. 

“Sojiroooo! I hunger!” she says, tossing herself into the seat where Morgana just was. Sae chuckles quietly. 

“Thank you for the coffee, Sakura-san, but it’s probably time for me to get going,” she says, and gets up out of her chair.

“Take it easy, Niijima-san,” Sojiro says. She nods in acknowledgement, and then leaves. Sojiro puts a plate of curry down in front of Futaba.

“Thanks,” she says.

“I’ll let you kids be. Seems like you all have something to talk about, anyway. Don’t make it too long though, I have a business to run,” Sojiro says, and steps outside, cigarette in hand. Akira’s face reddens in embarrassment. Guess they weren’t quiet enough. Futaba munches away at her curry.

“So, I was planning on going in today,” Goro says, “I’ve located where he seems to be in Mementos.”

Futaba turns to Akira, “You good with going in today?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” 

“Then why don’t we get out of his hair, and finish this,” Goro says. He gets out of his stool, and motions for Futaba and Akira to follow. 

Mementos is the same as always, but it feels a bit strange having just himself, Goro, and Futaba here. She walks behind the two of them warily. Like always, the Velvet Room door is gone, but Caroline’s sitting up on what would be a shelf for the ticket machine in the real world, while Justine leans against the wall. They perk up once they notice Akira and Goro’s presence. 

“Ah, Inmates. Good timing. You know there isn’t much time left, right? Our deal is still on the table.” Justine says.

“As keepers of power, we truly want to know what you’re capable of, after all!” Caroline says.

“I understand,” Akira says.

“We’re kind of busy right now,” Goro says.

“You know your deadline, do you not? Come see us before then.” Justine leans back up against the wall, effectively ending the conversation. The three of them walk away from them.

“What was that all about?” Futaba asks once they’re past the turnstiles, and she’s safely tucked away inside Prometheus. 

“They want to fight us,” Goro says, kicking idly at the ground as he walks. 

“Those little girls? How strong could they possibly be?” 

“Probably pretty damn strong, if I had to guess,” Akira says, “anyway, how far of a walk is this gonna be, Crow?” 

“I can sense the target a few more floors down,” Goro says. 

After they walk for what feels like hours, they make it down to the floor that Goro says the SIU Director should be on. Akira definitely should’ve rested for another day. He feels out of breath from walking so far. But then again, he’s also used to the luxury of Morgana carting them around Mementos. They walk down one of the paths, and are faced with the red swirling vortex.

“You ready?” Akira asks.

“This better go right,” Goro growls, and the three of them step into the vortex. As soon as the Shadow makes eye contact with them after they get spat out on the other side, it begins groveling. 

“Please… please don’t kill me, Akechi. Shido put you up to this, didn’t he?” it whimpers. Goro’s face twists under his mask.

“Get up,” he snarls, “Or you’ll regret not taking advantage of my mercy.” The old man’s Shadow looks up at Goro, who has one hand on his sword, and shakily stands.

“I’ll do anything! Please, please just don’t tell Shido! I’ll tell you anything you want!”

“I’m not here for information. And this won’t get nasty unless you want to fight Joker and I.” The Shadow looks over at Akira with its beady yellow eyes, and a sweeping of realization passes over its face. 

“You- That- That’s the mask on the calling cards. Are you- since when-”

“Yes, yes, I’m loyal to the Phantom Thieves. Now, do you want to live or not?” Goro slips back into the aggressive stance he had earlier, hand fully wrapped around the hilt of his saber. 

“I do! Please… please let me live, please.”

“Then you better go back to your body and run far, far away. Disappear. Fake your death. And once this fucked up mess is cleaned up, only then can you possibly come back,” Goro says, taking a few steps forward, sword fully drawn and pointed at the SIU Director’s Shadow. 

“I- I understand.”

“You do understand that I can and will track you down if you don’t,” Goro says, and the Shadow slowly nods. The Shadow starts becoming more and more transparent, the glimmer of its Treasure taking shape, before the Shadow fully disappears and the treasure drops onto the ground. Goro walks over, and picks it up. 

“It’s just a skill card. Mind if I keep it for my own Personas?”

“All yours.”

“Hopefully he won’t end up causing any problems for us,” Futaba’s voice crackles, “Especially since he seems to know now that you’re directly tied to the Thieves. That was a  _ pretty _ dumb thing to say, Crow.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Let’s get back, since we’re going into that bastard’s Palace tomorrow.” 

The next day, the Phantom Thieves convene at Leblanc. Today’s the day for their first cursory investigation into his Palace. Akira doesn’t want to go any farther than talking to the guests to find out about the VIP letters. Yesterday’s mission tired him out, even though he didn’t even summon his Persona, and he knows that being in Shido’s Palace is going to be mentally draining. 

“I’m certain I mentioned this earlier, but we do need to keep tabs on our surroundings at all times in there. The cognitive version of myself will likely shoot on sight,” Goro says, his voice purposefully stiff. 

“Yeah, you did. And that sounds about right,” Ryuji says. Goro sighs. At this point, there’s definitely a competition between Sojiro and Goro for who sighs in exasperation the most. 

“Let’s just get going…” Makoto says, “the sooner we change his heart, the better, right?” 

“Right. Let’s go,” Akira says.

Once they arrive, the rest of the Phantom Thieves stare at the surroundings around them in abject horror. 

“This… This is how he sees Tokyo?” 

“What a sickening sight.”

“Inari, it’s not just sickening. This is what he thinks Tokyo should be!”

Goro visibly grits his teeth, and steps away from the group. Akira follows him.

“You do understand what danger we’re in, right, Joker? One false slip here and Shido starts realizing something’s up. That’s how I knew to come… deal with you, last time. He was saying some rather strange things.”

“Crow. You don’t think I understand?”

“I’m just reminding you. Let’s get moving. I doubt either of us want to spend any more time here than we have to.” 


	78. Chapter 78

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy late spooky day everyone!

Akechi is utterly disgusted. Not just from what happened here last time, and not just from the sickening sense of narcissism and pride permeating through every corner of this damn ship. The sense of knowing that something with his face is out there with a gun, ready to kill him again, twists him to his very core. Akechi can sense Akira’s unease as well. Although, that may be from the fact that he still doesn’t appear to be in full fighting shape yet. Akira swore that he felt fine, and Akechi would’ve liked to take his word for it. But his somewhat labored breathing and slower movement tells Akechi otherwise. He’s glad, both for Akira’s sake, and his own sake, that they aren’t spending much time here at all. Just watching Akira struggle slightly while fighting, and the way the guests react to their fight with that Cerberus, fills him with disgust all over again.

Once they get through the main entry hall, Morgana smells the Treasure behind the doors to what might be the Hall of Representatives. Akechi truthfully has no idea what lurks behind that door. Last time, he could never find a way in without getting those keycards, and he never had much desire to, anyway. He was planning last time to raise Shido up, and just as he hit his peak, Akechi would reveal the truth, destroy Shido’s credibility and life, and then possibly end his own. It would have been the perfect, easy end. Of course, he could ask Akira what’s behind that door. Akira would get all contemplative for a second, and then he would probably ask if he’s okay with knowing that, and then Akechi would say yes, and then Akira would tell him. 

Akechi’s spaced out more than he should have in the Metaverse, and in this Palace of all places, so when he comes back to the present mentally, just Akira is standing next to him. Akechi shakes his head slightly. The rest of the Thieves have dispersed around the hall. 

“What’s up?” Akira asks him.

“Just thinking about some things, Joker. I assume the others are gathering information now?” 

“Yeah. I was just waiting on you.”

“Perhaps it would be best if you spoke with the guests, while I stayed here. Who knows whether or not they’ll recognize me?”

“I guess that’s a good point,” Akira says, and just as he starts walking away, two guests, both masked and in frilly dresses, stop short in front of Akechi and Akira. The women look Akechi up and down, and start frantically whispering to each other. They aren’t good at actually keeping their voices down, however. 

“That’s Akechi-kun, isn’t it?” One of the women whispers, and behind her mask the other woman pulls a befuddled face. 

“Gosh, I hope not. That thing only shows up when there’s a mess the Cleaner can’t take care of!” The befuddled woman giggles. Akechi bites the inside of his cheek. Of course the cognitions in this Palace see him as a thing. A nice little puppet on Shido’s shelf; that’s all he is. Akira shifts slightly closer to him, his arms crossed. If he’s expecting a fight, he isn’t going to find it here. From what he’s observed, the female cognitions here aren’t hostile. Unsurprising, considering Shido’s track record of breaking women down until they were dedicated only to him, and then throwing them away. Akechi wonders sometimes where he would be if Shido wasn’t such a shitbag. He probably wouldn’t exist.

“Oh, he’s looking at us. Hmm, doesn’t that other boy’s mask look familiar?”

“It does, but I’m still worried about him,” the woman says, gesturing at Akechi. He has to fix this, fast. He doesn’t recognize this woman at all, which hopefully means she doesn’t know anything about the Black Mask.

“May I interrupt your whisperings, madams?” Akechi says, piling as much flattery into his voice as he can. One of the women blanches. Akira scoffs.

“Oh-oh, um, our apologies, we just thought-”

“That I was Akechi-san? Oh, I get that a lot. I’m,” he pauses momentarily to make up a name, when something flashes into his mind, “Ren Amamiya. Now, if you’ll mind us, we need to get going.” 

“We’re so sorry that we thought you were him!” the other woman bows, and then they both scurry off. Akira turns to him.

“Seems like I’m a good disguise, eh? First and second time both seemed to do the trick-”

“Shut it, Joker.”

“You love me.”

“Yeah, I do, now let’s get going. The others are probably waiting.” Akira smirks at him. That little know it all shit. With no snarky comments from Akira about what he just said, they move around the room, talking to each of the Phantom Thieves scattered about. Along the way, they find a map, which at this point probably isn’t necessary with Akechi’s knowledge of this place. After they regroup in the safe room, they discuss their current knowledge. Morgana stands on the table, while everyone else is loosely scattered around it. 

“Based on what we’ve seen here, Shido’s got to be a powerful enemy. Not only does the scenery feel real, but the cognitions feel like real people too.” Morgana says. Akechi taps the table slightly, bringing the attention to him.

“Speaking of which, we are all going to need to be on guard, especially myself and Joker. I’ve already been recognized and nearly named, and another guest recognized Joker’s mask.” 

“I guess it does help that everyone else here is wearing masks at least,” Takamaki sighs, “But you two are pretty distinctive.” 

“I think even though everyone else is wearing masks we still stand out due to our attire,” Niijima says.

“Yeah, not many people wearing catsuits and biker gear here,” Sakamoto says, and is rewarded with a sharp elbow from Takamaki. Akechi clears his throat.

“Anyway, the point is if anyone asks about me, my name is Ren Amamiya, got that?” 

“That’s quite the peculiar name,” Kitagawa says.

“It’s the best I could’ve thought up in the time I had, and I wasn’t going to do something as basic as Taro Tanaka.”

“I see,” Kitagawa says. The conversation then drifts to the topic of the VIPs. All of them are familiar names in some capacity. Shido’s made Akechi do a few favors for them, after all. But once they’re wrapped up with that, they exit the Metaverse. 

Akira looks even more exhausted than he did after their previous Metaverse trip. If nothing else, Akechi’s going to force a schedule conflict to make sure they don’t have to go in tomorrow to give him an actual chance to rest. Or, Akira will clonk together two of those brain cells of his, and realize it on his own. The Thieves all go their separate ways, for now, and Akechi, Akira, Sakura-san, and Morgana all make their way back to Leblanc. When they walk in, Sakura-san waves, and then she disappears from the doorway, presumably walking back to her house. The older Sakura-san looks at the remaining three of them standing in the doorway with a pointed stare. 

“Welcome back,” he says, and then sharply sighs, “This is it, isn’t it?”

“We have to do this,” Akira says. Sakura-san smiles slightly. 

“I’ll help in any way I can. Just… do what you have to do.” The three of them nod, and then they go upstairs. Akira sits down on his bed, and his phone starts ringing.

“It’s Ryuji.” he says, and he walks over to the corner of the room. Akechi lays down on his back on the couch, and lets him do his phone call. He really should take Akira up on his idea of keeping a suitcase here, if they always end up like this. 

The next day, he wakes up to Akira and Morgana talking quietly to each other about something. The next thing he notices is just how cold the room is. It seems like the other two noticed too, as Akira gets up to sift through the shelves, and takes down the space heater that was on one of them. He plugs it in, and sits down in front of it. Morgana sits down next to him. There’s no reason for Akechi to continue acting like he’s sleeping, so he gets up off the bed, and shuffles over to Akira and Morgana to sit down. Akira’s looking better than he did yesterday, but his face is rather solemn. Morgana has a similarly pensive face, but they remain quiet until Morgana turns to the two of them. 

“Something wrong?” Akira asks. 

“I… I was just thinking that this is probably going to be the last job for the Phantom Thieves.” Morgana says, and Akira and Akechi share a sidelong, knowing glance. This is far from over. Morgana looks at their glance.

“What do you mean?” Akira asks. 

“Well, it’s just, it seems that everyone’s goals and motivations are tied in some way to Shido, but…,” Morgana looks straight at them, “You two’re acting like there’s something else. I won’t lie and say I haven’t noticed that you two seem to know things you shouldn’t be able to.” Akechi feels his mouth dry. Akira looks away from Morgana, and looks down into the space between his and Akechi’s knees. 

“That’s because there is something else. I can’t tell you, though.” Akira says in a small voice. Morgana tilts his head, and his little face narrows in worry. 

“Why? Akira, is everything okay?” 

“I don’t know what could go wrong if we tell you.”

“We?” 

“I know too,” Akechi says. 

“Oh. Well. I guess whatever it is, I’m going to trust your judgement as our leader, okay? I’m with you all the way to the end.” Morgana breathes. Strangely, it feels as if there’s a huge weight off of Akechi’s back. They sit in front of the heater’s warmth in silence for a few more moments, and then Sakura-san’s calling Akira to come downstairs to do his work. Akechi doesn’t feel like doing much of anything today, so once Akira’s ready for the day, Akechi follows him downstairs, and sets himself up at the counter. Sakura-san gives him an odd look, but seems to be fine with him staying there, as he gives him a cup of coffee. Later on, the other Sakura-san waltzes on in, and begins talking to Sojiro-san behind the counter. Sojiro-san seems to be uneasy about the time, asking Sakura-san if it’s okay for Akira to be downstairs, just in case a Shujin student happens to walk in. This mention makes Akechi suspect that something’s going to happen. And mere seconds later, the door chimes.

“Welcome-” Sojiro-san says, before stopping short once he notices Yoshizawa-san standing in the entryway. His head whips back to face Sakura-san.

“She’s fine, she knows who we are.” she says. Akira slides out from behind the counter, and Yoshizawa-san rushes over to him. 

“Akira-senpai? It’s… it’s really you, right? You’re okay?”

“More or less.” Akira wiggles his hands in the air in some strange way to prove his existence. Sojiro-san chuckles.

“Since it seems like you all know what’s happened, I’ll leave you be. I have to go get groceries, anyway.” he says, and promptly leaves. Sakura-san, Yoshizawa-san, and Akira all slide into a booth. Since Sakura-san’s sitting next to Akira, Akechi feels a bit awkward towards joining them, so he stays put in his counter seat. He also isn’t very interested in their conversation, since it’ll probably just be Yoshizawa-san worrying needlessly about Akira. Once they get a little bit more into their conversation, Akechi decides to pay attention. His timing couldn’t have been more perfect.

“If I truly have special powers like you and Akechi-san and the rest of the Thieves, I feel like I should be helping you and fighting alongside you.” Akechi knows that she definitely couldn’t have helped them last time, and with what they know about her being unable to fully awaken her Persona until she realized that she wasn’t her dead sister. Maruki will pay, again. One man should not be allowed to make decisions of that magnitude. No one should. Not a man, and not a god. Yoshizawa-san sets her lip again.

“I feel as if I ought to lend you all a hand.” she says, and Akira glances back over at Akechi. Akechi shakes his head. No way. Who knows what could happen to her cognition in there, let alone if she’s actually strong or her persona is stable enough at this point for it to be of much help? 

“I’m sorry. It’s too dangerous, and I don’t want to drag anyone else in that doesn’t absolutely have to.” Yoshizawa-san nods. 

“I understand. Just… please stay safe. Please. I don’t want to feel that way again. Anyway, I should be going now. Thank you for the coffee.” Yoshizawa-san bows, gets up, and walks out. Sakura-san turns to Akira.

“Let’s get this over with so she won’t have to worry anymore. You feel fine enough to go in tomorrow?” she says.

“I think so.” 

“Don’t push too hard with that, Akira,” Akechi says. 


	79. Chapter 79

Akira stands on the deck of Shido’s Palace, unease thick in his throat, and two very annoyed girls in blue staring up at him. Goro stands behind Akira, absently dragging his foot across the floor. The rest of the Thieves wait farther out on the deck of the ship closer to the bow. When they had entered the Palace, the girls had called out to them, and here they stood now. Caroline taps her foot impatiently. 

“The time is nigh, Inmates.” Justine says.

“You better understand!” Caroline says, and with a whip of her baton, they dismiss them. 

“What was that all about?” Makoto asks them once they rejoin the group. Goro shrugs. 

“They like doing that for some reason.” Akira says, and Makoto seems to accept this. With that, Akira adds Makoto and Ann to the front party, and they enter Shido’s Palace.

As they walk towards the dining hall to get their first keycard, Akira notices that, even with the mask blocking most of his face, Goro’s expression has somehow become even more disgusted than it was yesterday. Akira has no idea how much time Goro spent in this Palace last run, since he doesn’t seem surprised by what’s around him. But even if they’ve spent an equal amount of time here, it’s justified for Goro to feel far more disgusted than Akira does in this place. Akira hates it here, and he hates that a man could be so warped, but although Shido’s impacted his life greatly, it’s still nowhere to the degree that Goro’s has been. Speaking of Goro, his enhanced Third Eye comes in handy as they scramble across the main hall area. With how guarded Shido is in real life, his Shadow guards seem to do their jobs quite poorly, as the Thieves are able to run directly in front of them in search of the dropped members card. Eventually, they find it, and make their way back to the restaurant. 

There, they use the same plan they did last time, with Ryuji and Makoto sitting in the politician’s spot. The rest of the Thieves stand nearby, with Goro tucked into the back of the group mostly out of sight. It’s not a good position to be in to jump into the upcoming fight, but the less recognition, the better. Eventually, the politician and his cronies stumble up, and Ryuji and Makoto unsuccessfully negotiate with him, prompting a fight. Just before the Shadow coalesces into its demon form, Akira hears Goro call something out.

“Yamata-no-Orochi. Psychic skills, Joker.” At the sound of Goro’s voice, the politician snaps his head over in Goro’s direction, and what could pass as recognition flashes across the Shadow’s face. It doesn’t stop the Shadow from transforming, though, and himself, Goro, Ann, and Makoto leap into the fray. With a few Psiodynes from him and Goro, the Shadow falls. They pick up the letter of recommendation, and after a short conversation about the subway accident, they move on. It seems like the Shadow’s apparent recognition of Goro was just something Akira thought he saw, since the Shadow didn’t say anything about Goro hiding in the back. 

“Damn rat puzzles,” Goro groans as they walk through the back hallways. Right. Unless he found out some secret ventilation pathway all across the ship, he would’ve had to deal with these at one point. Akira doesn’t like them too much himself, especially when the scent of cheese in the traps becomes overbearing. 

Once they get through this set of hallways, they arrive on the pool deck. Akira’s brain has been scrambling to try to figure out a plan that doesn’t involve the girls having to flirt with the noble’s Shadow, but no luck. There’s always the ‘throw Goro at him and see what happens’ option, but that could end pretty badly. So, after talking to the noble and the other guests on the ship, Akira lets Ryuji come up with his idea again. Ryuji makes them bust into the changing room, and then disappears for a while.

“What are you plotting now, Skull,” Goro mutters, and is answered by Ryuji returning with several hangers and swimsuits in his hands. Goro and the girls simultaneously sigh. They leave the girls in the room to change, and wait patiently out by the pool deck. As they wait, Akira notices that Goro's on edge, shifting back and forth between his feet, and his eyes darting all over the deck, looking out for something. Shido’s cognition of him, most likely, but there are a couple stray guard Shadows wandering around on the deck, walking just too close every so often. The girls finally come out though after a few minutes, and they talk to the noble’s Shadow once more. Goro doesn’t call out what Shadow this one’s going to turn into this time. He must’ve noticed that the last Shadow recognized his status as the Black Mask in some way. The Shadow transforms into a Forneus after Ann calls for help, and they strike it down with a couple Ziodynes. After they question the noble about his involvement with the mental shutdowns, they scoop up the second letter of recommendation, and are just about to leave when the noble stops them.

“Wait,” the Shadow says, “You are the Phantom Thieves, right?”

“Who says we are?” Ryuji shoots back, and the noble shakes his head.

“Lord Shido should’ve been more careful with who he trusted, I see.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Makoto asks. 

“If that is the true black mask he spoke of…” he says, and then silences, leaning back in his beach chair. Makoto tries speaking with him again, but is met with a shake of the head and silence from the Shadow. With nothing else to do, they leave to go to the next area. As they walk through the next area, Akira can sense Goro’s rising fury and anxiety emanating from behind him. He’s even twitchier than he was on the deck. Hopefully, their luck from last time will be the same, and they’ll only run into it in the boiler room, and be able to take it down with everyone in their party being full strength. But Akira knows that Goro’s ability to sense in the Metaverse is far greater than his own, so he might be somehow tracking the cognition’s presence in the ship. Futaba hasn’t said anything, and she’s theoretically trying to track it, so Akira hasn’t been worrying too much personally. Or, at least trying to. He’s not looking forward to the fight, or being in that room again. 

On their way to the entertainment hall, they’re stopped by the Cleaner, and a couple of his Baphomets. It’s a useless attempt to slow them down, as they go down in a couple of hits, and they move on to the entertainment hall. Akira’s glad they don’t have to gamble here like they did in Sae’s Palace. He’d gotten more than his fill of that there. Unsurprisingly, the TV station president’s Shadow is sitting at one of the slot machines, and they send over Haru to attempt to speak with him. Negotiations go smoothly enough right up until the Shadow begins insulting Haru’s father. Akira grits his teeth, and rushes up with the rest of the Thieves.

“You’re- Thieves? Phan- Wait… You!” the Shadow growls, and transforms. They swiftly take out the Hanuman and his two servant Garudas. After the fight, the Shadow stands pitifully in front of them. Haru walks up, and snatches the letter of introduction from it. Without any prompting, the Shadow begins speaking of Kaneshiro, and how they purposefully showed Goro and Shido constantly. It doesn’t directly call out Goro’s presence like the last Shadow did, but it stares hesitantly at him. Finally, its voice goes quiet, and it sits back down at its slot machine. As they walk away, out of earshot, Akira hears Goro scoff.

“To think that if I were not with you right now, I’d be sitting in that very studio talking about your suicide, dear Joker.”

“This does count as a ‘prior engagement,’ right?” Akira says.

“More or less. Still, it’s rather worrying that even if they don’t directly acknowledge it, they still seem to be recognizing me. Let’s proceed with caution.”

After traversing another set of back hallways, they’re stopped once more by the Cleaner’s Baphomets, which are annihilated by Mahamaon, and they continue onwards. The hallways loop back to the dining room, and thankfully, Akira remembers that they need to go talk to the waiter to learn where the Shadow IT President lurks. Last time, he spent way longer than he needed to here, running around like an idiot. They find the waiter, and board the elevator to go up to the Shadow’s room. On the way up, tension is heavy in the air; Akira and Goro know what’s coming soon, and the rest of the Thieves are probably worried that something’s coming, but they don’t know when. But first, they have to deal with the IT President. Just as they did last time, they send in Futaba, who talks with it for a while. Just as Akira starts to get worried, she calls for backup, and the Thieves bust into the room. Unlike the others, this Shadow does not seem to be fazed by Goro’s presence, and immediately transforms into an Oberon and two Titanias. Makoto makes quick work of the Oberon with Freidyne, and Akira and Goro tag team to take down the Titanias with Psi skills. After the battle, Akira’s question about the IT President not caring for Goro’s presence is answered, as it confesses to not using any mental shutdowns, but hiding and destroying Wakaba’s research. With the fourth letter of introduction in hand, they return to the side deck.

Something grips at Akira’s throat from inside of him. He needs to kick down this grate, and they need to go fight the Cleaner. They need that final letter of recommendation. It’s the only way they’ll be able to take down Shido. But now, as he stands in front of this grate, he can’t move. He felt fine just mere moments ago, but now it feels as if Yaldabaoth has frozen him again. 

“Hey, something wrong? Is the smoke bad?” Ryuji asks him, jostling him out of his thoughts, but his muscles refuse to unlock. Akira can feel Goro looking over at him. Akira wills himself to move, and smashes the grate with a single kick. The rest of the Thieves enter the vent, and Akira shimmies himself in after them. Goro enters the vent last, staying close behind Akira. He seems angrier than ever, but that anger is definitely being used to cover up something. They emerge from the vent into the main hall of the engine room, landing almost directly on top of the Cleaner and his Shadows. The Cleaner, in exasperation, transforms his Shadows into Baphomets once more, and runs off. Akira, with some stroke of luck, takes them all down with Mahamaon on his first try, and they dash to the room the Cleaner’s boarded itself up in. The door’s locked, but in true thief fashion, they find another vent, and come in.

As expected, the Thieves are caught off guard by the Cleaner being yakuza, and Ann makes up the plan for Yusuke to draw him a tattoo design once more. As Yusuke works on drawing it, the Cleaner suddenly turns to Goro, who’s been standing in the back of the group, leaned up against the wall. 

“You there. Show me your face, boy. I don’t like your attitude.” Goro slowly extracts himself from the wall, and walks into the light. The Cleaner chuckles.

“What do you want from me?” Goro says with a scowl. He’s on his guard.

“Now that I see who you are… I guess it was inevitable, eh? I thought the Black Mask was truly loyal to Shido, but I guess money is the real motivation for both of us.” Goro has no response to this. Yusuke finishes up his artwork, and after they scuffle about Yusuke becoming the Cleaner’s private tattoo artist, Akira fully expects the Cleaner to transform. But instead, he simply shrugs and sighs.

“No point in fighting you guys. It’s clear that you’re strong, and if you have the Black Mask with you, I guess the captain’s gonna be sinking by himself soon. Here’s that letter you wanted. See ya.” and then, it's gone. 

“That’s all five of them, right?” Haru asks. 

“Yes, I think now all we have to do is… Crow? Where are you-” Yusuke starts saying, but Goro storms out through the opened doors. Akira, with a sudden burst of speed, sprints up next to him. Under his mask, his eyes are darting wildly, scanning the room. That familiar pit returns to Akira’s stomach. The rest of the Thieves run up behind them.

“Joker! Crow! What are you-”

“Shit! I’m getting a new signal!” Futaba says, but Goro turns around, whips out his gun, and shoots into the darkness. The bullet pings off of a wall somewhere. That feeling Akira had earlier slowly returns. He can’t be having this right now. He can’t. He can’t be weak in this fight. 

“Where are you?!” Goro screams, and moments later, that thing with Goro’s face slides out of the shadows. It already has that warped, wide eyed expression, and its left hand is positioned just at his hip, most likely pawing for a holster. Akira feels himself freeze. Cognitive Akechi smoothly slides his gun out from his holster, and points it directly at Goro. Akira wants to. No. He needs to move. He switches to Rangda preemptively, and steps next to Goro. 

“Orders from the captain. Traitors have no place here. Besides,” the cognition cracks its neck, “killing you now would make our plans only slightly more complicated. You were to be disposed of soon, anyway.” 

“I know that perfectly well,” Goro growls, and pulls his own gun again. He shoots the cognition in the knee, and it barely stumbles. It laughs wretchedly. 

“Look at you… So brave because the Phantom Thieves acknowledge you,” it turns his gun directly at Goro’s face, and Akira feels Ranga burst from his psyche, “Oh, don’t you think it’s time you receive your punishment for all you’ve done? Do these Thieves even truly realize what you are? And you… I don’t know who you are, but you’re a fool.” Akira feels an unprompted laugh rip from his throat.

“And you’re just what Shido thinks of him.” Akira says.

“Truly. But I think your time here is over. Guards?” Shadows spring up around them. With the two Wild Cards, they go down quickly, and in between, Goro’s able to get some pot shots on the cognition. Akira has to keep reminding himself that this is how it should’ve gone. Everyone will be safe. 

The cognition finally stands alone, its face contorted in rage. Without warning, its body begins to twist, and it slumps forward. A string jerks it back up into a standing position. At the sight of this, Goro laughs wildly. 

“Oh, Shido. Couldn’t you have been more creative than this?” Goro says, and launches himself at the cognition’s doll form. His pent up rage from earlier seems to be of good use. Akira’s not sure if he’s got blood in his veins any more, as all he can feel is pure adrenaline. The other Thieves follow, not even bothering to listen for an order from Akira. There aren’t any, anyway. He’s too preoccupied with mindless slashing. Something doesn’t feel right, however. He doesn’t feel like he’s acting right. And the fact that this cognition isn’t fighting back isn’t helping things. 

After their blitz of attacks, the cognition melts into the ground. The Thieves all stop to glance at each other. 

“What… what just happened?” Makoto breathes. Ryuji opens his mouth to talk, but is interrupted by the clattering of someone’s weapon falling to the ground. Akira looks over to see Goro slowly sinking to his knees, panting in exhaustion. He looks up at Akira.

“We… we… we need to leave,” he says. Akira kneels down next to him, offering his shoulder for support, and they get up together. Ryuji and Yusuke trail closely behind them. As they leave, they can feel the twins’ eyes boring into them, but they do not stop until they exit the Metaverse. 

The initial plan was for Akira to escort Goro back to his apartment and then return to Leblanc, but Goro told him to wait in his apartment’s entrance. It’s been more than a few minutes, and Akira’s starting to get concerned that he might’ve passed out somewhere, so he slips off his shoes and pads around the place. It’s remarkably bleak in here, and Akira hates that this was what he was expecting whenever he thought about where Goro lives. After checking most of the rooms, his eyes accidentally glance into his bedroom. In there, he can see what looks like an almost full open black suitcase on Goro’s bed, and movement inside. Akira quickly returns to the entryway, shoving his shoes back on.

“Sorry about the wait,” Goro says. Akira doesn’t ask him about the suitcase. He doubts that he’s suddenly decided that he’s going on a trip. Goro closes the apartment door, locks it, and then slides the key under the door. Unless he has a spare, he’s not going back in.

“What was that for?”

“I can’t go back in there.” he says cryptically, and they leave it at that.

Sojiro gives Goro a strange look when he walks in, but Goro turns to him, pulls out a significant chunk of change, and leaves it in front of Sojiro before heading upstairs. Sojiro looks utterly bemused. 

“Kid. Is he moving in or something?”

“Seems like it. He didn’t even tell me, just took me to his apartment, packed a suitcase, and left.” Sojiro sighs, and takes a drag from his cigarette.

“I worry about him a lot,” Sojiro says, “You should go upstairs. I’ll close up and go home.”

Akira walks upstairs slowly, the Metaverse exhaustion hitting him like a bat to the knees. Goro’s sitting on his bed, looking at his hands. He looks up, his eyes dull and exhausted. 

“Hey,” Akira says, and sits down next to Goro.

“Hey,” he says softly.

“You want to talk about what happened?”

“No,” Goro says, and then hesitates, “I think. Did you feel strange during that fight?”

“Kind of?”

“I fucked up. I… think I lost control.”

“I thought it was just adrenaline.”

“Thank god.” Goro sighs, and looks at the wall. 

“That was a hell of a lot.” Akira says. 

“I thought you had mentally checked out in front of that grate.”

“I almost did. I really didn’t want to go back down there.”

“Neither did I.”

“I have a feeling though that that won’t be the last we’ll see of that cognition.” Akira says, and Goro nods.


	80. Chapter 80

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Emetophobia trigger warning.
> 
> Also, I will make this note here just to clarify. I call Akechi's ability Berserk, since that's the name I first learned for it.

Akechi wakes with a violent shudder, and leaps over the sleeping form of Akira that was just beside him. He can’t stay like this. His body feels like it’s on fire. He needs to go outside, run around, leave this god forsaken country. He stumbles down the stairs, and only makes it halfway down before bile rises in his throat. Nearly tripping down the last step, he scrambles to get into the small bathroom, and his knees buckle in front of the toilet. He’s able to force his head into the toilet bowl in just the nick of time. He heaves, his nose and throat burning. He can’t think, his head stuffed full of cotton. All he can do is wrap his arms around the toilet, and retch. 

His phone in his pocket rings. He pulls his head out of the toilet slowly, his body trembling. How weak of him. He slides one shaky hand into his pocket, his other hand bracing himself on the toilet. Of course, it has to be him. Akechi can’t move his hand to answer, in fact, his hand falls slack, and his phone bounces across the floor. It keeps ringing. It stops, momentarily, and Akechi feels himself breathe. It starts ringing again, and his breath freezes in his throat. This is pathetic. Why can’t he just answer the damn phone? Why? He grits his teeth, and shoves his hand towards the phone. He grabs it, and forces his thumb to hit the answer button. Hugging his whole body to the toilet, his elbow planted on the seat, he brings the phone to his ear.

“Akechi-kun, are you even listening to me?” Shido’s voice buzzes.

“Yes, my-” he retches again, “apologies.”

“Don’t tell me you’ve been drinking.” Oh, how ironic. 

Akechi hesitates, and says, “Food poisoning.”

“Fine. Have it be so. You should know we have the election coming up. Don’t do  _ anything _ stupid. And, I’d like you to take care of any customers of our little business. We can’t be having any interference. Do you understand?” Akechi answers him with another retch, followed by a “perfectly, sir.” Shido makes a sound of disgust, and ends the call. Without warning, Akechi feels the hand holding his phone convulse, and the phone flies through the air. It manages to get far enough that it bounces off the wall of the bathroom. He looks over himself, and in a fit, he rips his stained shirt off, and throws it on the counter. With that, his body locks up once more. He can start to feel tears roll down his face slowly. What a mess he is. He had been feeling off throughout the entirety of that Palace, and had just brushed it off as a product of the past. During that fight, he was so blinded by his own rage and Berserk that he had forced himself not to feel. And now look at him, sobbing on the floor of a cafe bathroom with vomit in the toilet. 

_ Truly how far you’ve fallen,  _ a voice from nowhere speaks, and Akechi chokes. 

“Leave,” Akechi murmurs, the echo from the toilet bowl amplifying his feeble request. Yaldabaoth laughs. He’s been keeping it hidden from Akira, perhaps out of a strange fear of some sort, that Yaldabaoth’s been harassing him almost nightly at this point. 

_ This is all your fault. Relying on those around you is obviously getting you nowhere. Even that pawn of Igor has obviously given up on you. Why else would he still be asleep? You want to remove Shido, yes? You don’t need anyone but you to do that. Plus, it seems as if your own impulses are imposing on others again. And besides, you should be thankful for that extra boost you got from me. Don’t you understand how much help you can get from me? You know, he lied about not feeling the effects of you losing control, after all. He only stays around just so he can fulfill his own savior complex. And besides-  _

“Goro?” Akira’s voice says from behind him, and the god’s voice sputters in his mind. Good. He was about to scream from the nonsensical manipulation it was attempting. 

_ How did he-? _ And then the voice falls quiet. Akechi can’t move still, and all he can do is grip the toilet tighter. Akira shuffles closer behind him, and Akechi can hear him kneel down behind him. A warm hand settles itself on Akechi’s back, and he wants to flinch away from it. He doesn’t want Akira seeing him like this. It’s his fault. He should’ve told Akira that he couldn’t have gone down there. Why did he let himself do that? 

“I’m going to go get you a new shirt, okay?” Akira says. Akechi gives a little, shuddering nod, and Akira leaves. Akechi can feel his muscles slowly unlocking, but his mind is still racing, and his breathing is still sharp. Moments later, Akira returns, sets something down on the counter, and returns to kneeling beside him. Akechi slowly turns his head to look back at Akira. A shadow of concern passes through his face, but he stays unflinchingly calm. Good. Akechi already feels like he’s hysterical. He doesn’t need any extra emotions in this room. Out of the corner of his eye, he watches Morgana peek his head in briefly, before presumably turning around to go back upstairs. Once the sound of little feet running up the stairs stops, Akira scoots closer. Akechi meets Akira’s eyes, and Akira gives him a small smile.

“Hey,” Akira says, “Deep breaths.” Akechi’s breathing is still labored, but he tries his best. His nose still burns. After a few minutes of this, Akechi’s able to pull himself into a sitting position in front of Akira. He bites the inside of his cheek.

“I’m sorry,” Akechi blurts out. He doesn’t really know where it came from, but Akira just shakes his head.

“Don’t be,” and with a shaky laugh, he says, “We really aren’t handling this Palace well, are we?” There Akira goes again, figuring out exactly what’s bothering Akechi. 

“No. No, we aren’t,” Akechi says, with the same shake in his voice as Akira. Another lump leaves his throat. Maybe admitting it out loud helps more than he thought. 

“Not much point in sitting on the bathroom floor, though, huh?” Akira says, and gets up. He offers out his hand. Akechi grabs it, and pulls himself up. He catches a look at himself in the bathroom mirror as he reaches a full standing position. He’s bleary eyed, with crud on his face, and a hunch in his shoulder he would never show publicly. Akira is similarly red-eyed, although Akechi’s sure it’s from exhaustion and not from tears. 

“I’ll clean up in here,” Akechi says, but Akira just shakes his head. Prick.

“Just clean yourself up, and then go sit down for a while.”

“It’s my fault that-”

“Goro,” and with what can only be described as a friendly glare, Akira silences his dissent, and walks out to give Akechi some privacy. Akechi sighs. He’s too tired for Akira’s mothering to get on his nerves. He quickly washes off his face, and puts on the clean shirt Akira gave him. Once he steps outside of the bathroom, he’s greeted by Akira with a bucket of cleaning supplies, and Morgana standing next to him. 

“All yours,” Akechi says, and Akira moves into the bathroom. Morgana doesn’t follow him, and instead follows Akechi out into the cafe. Akira must’ve told him to keep an eye on him. To this, Akechi feels a bit of annoyance rise in him. He’s not just some pretty glass doll on a shelf that absolutely cannot be disturbed. And yet, some part of his soul tells him to just sit down, and wait for Akira to finish. Maybe it’s that long-suppressed part of him that holds Robin Hood. Or maybe he’s just getting soft. He sits down at one of the booths, and with Morgana next to him on the table, he waits.

After the sounds of running water and occasionally scrubbing fill the quiet cafe, Akira emerges from the bathroom and returns the bucket to wherever it belongs behind the counter. As Akira passes by the seat that Akechi’s sitting in to sit down across from him, Akira pauses momentarily, leans over, pushes Akechi’s bangs up, and kisses his forehead. It makes him feel like a little kid again, like when his mother was still around. Akechi scowls playfully at Akira once Akira sits down, and he swears he can hear a sigh of exasperation come from Morgana. They stare at each other in silence for a minute. Akira drums the tips of his fingers on the table. Looking at him now, he can see that there’s more than just exhaustion in his eyes. There’s some dredges of panic and fear left over from when he froze like he did on the ship. Akechi had almost slapped him then. He knows it would’ve been the worst way to go about things, but his conflict de-escalation skills are nothing compared to Akira’s.

“So…” Akira says to break the silence.

“So?”

“So, well, I guess I’ll ask just one thing for now. Did Yaldabaoth try anything?”

Akechi hesitates, and then says, “Not really. He just tried to manipulate me while I was puking my guts out. That’s all.” Akira gets a strange look in his eye, and he rests his head on his hand.

“I’m not going to assume that all of what just happened was solely because of Yaldabaoth, but… I think he was forcing me to stay asleep.”

“Of course he was,” Akechi says with a hollow laugh, “One of the things he was insulting me for was that you had obviously given up on me since you didn’t wake up.” Akira frowns.

“I started trying to wake him up the second that you ran downstairs like that,” Morgana chimes in, but then his face pinches up, “Who’s Yaldabaoth, by the way?” Akechi and Akira shoot glances at each other.  _ You want to tell him? I guess I can, _ passes through their expressions.

“He… he’s someone with a lot of power that’s been trying to hurt us.” Akira says in the simplest terms possible, and then hastily tacks on a “please don’t worry” at the end of his sentence. Morgana hisses.

“If you describe it like that, of course I’m going to be worried. Besides, that name sounds kind of familiar, now that you mention it.”

“Shido’s our target now.” Akechi says, deadpan, and Morgana gives the cat equivalent of a shrug.

“Speaking of Shido,” Akira says, changing the topic, “I’m assuming that you don’t want to go in tomorrow whatsoever.”

“I can’t.”

“I don’t think I can either. Besides, I doubt that’s the last we’ll see of that-”  
“Monster? Abomination? Disgusting thing with my own face?”

“If you want to call it that.”

“Considering the way you froze up, I don’t think it’s good for you to be around that in there, either.” Akira visibly bites the inside of his cheek. 

“Speaking of that, something that he said while he was keeping me asleep was that you’re becoming more dangerous, and with you saying you lost control, I-”

“I think there’s more than just him emotionally manipulating us here, and there may be some… physical manipulation happening.” Whether he truly likes it or not, Akechi can’t stop himself from trying to deduce what’s going on in a situation. Akira looks down at the table for a minute, thinking. 

“How so?”

“I didn’t willingly use Berserk on myself. From what it seems, either I was so caught up in the moment that I didn’t even realize, which would be unlikely, or something else is at play here.  _ Especially _ since it seemed to affect everyone.”

“That could end up being extremely dangerous.”

“I’m aware.”

“I can’t think of any solutions.”

“Other than marching down there and killing that bastard ourselves, we’re just going to have to pray that I can keep the damn ability in check.”

“I suppose so,” Akira taps the table again, “Well, at least we don’t have to go to the Palace for a while. I know Futaba wants to get her special calling card prepped, and I know the Twins have been breathing down our necks for the past several visits.”

“Special… calling card? What is it?”

“A video that will be broadcast to all of Japan, announcing that the leader of the Thieves is back from the dead, and that Shido’s the target.” A wicked thought curls into Akechi’s mind. He could take this chance to fuck with Shido’s head one last time. Not tomorrow, though. At this point, all the rocks in his chest that aren’t permanently lodged there from his earlier years have crumbled to dust, and he feels slightly more relaxed now. He’s still worried about losing his own control, though. And that wretched thing in that Palace. But, his plan regarding Shido is becoming clearer by the minute. 

“Sounds perfect. I’ll have to talk to her about it.”

“In the meantime, I suppose the twins will want to see us.”

“Of course.”


	81. Chapter 81

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~hands you this and skips away for another three weeks~
> 
> I sincerely wish I could be updating more often, but you know, life and executive dysfunction do get in the way.

“Akira, get up.” someone says, aggressively so. He feels warm, he doesn’t want to get up yet. 

“Mmmm… five more minutes,” Akira mumbles. Goro sighs, and Akira feels an arm wrap around him. Akira’s about to curl back into Goro when something whacks him in the face. It feels exactly like when he dropped his phone on his face that one time. Akira blinks his eyes open. He’s greeted by a bright, blurry phone screen. 

“Akira, look at this.” Goro says. Akira blinks again, his vision clearing. He still can’t read the text, but he can see Goro’s phone rapidly scrolling through new notifications. 

“Huh? Who’s text bombing you?”

“I thought your glasses were fake, Akira.”

“I’m not awake…” Goro sighs heavily, and pulls the phone away from Akira’s face. Akira yawns, and finally pulls a hand out from under the blankets to rub his eyes. With his vision cleared, Akira sits up next to Goro. Seems like even if they actually need to and try to sleep, they’ll get interrupted anyway.

“So, it seems like someone taught them how to send texts.”

“Who?” Goro shoves the phone back into Akira’s face, and one glance at the message’s content answers all their questions.

**INMATES**

**5:22 am**

**NO_NAME_FOUND: INMATES**

**NO_NAME_FOUND: INMATES WE WISH TO F IGHT**

**NO_NAME_FOUND: We also would like you to take us to another location we have heard about.**

**NO_NAME_FOUND: BUT ALSO F IG TH**

**NO_NAME_FOUND: ALSO I CAN TELL INMATE 1 IS AWAKE**

**NO_NAME_FOUND: HELLO INMATE ONE**

**NO_NAME_FOUND: WILL YOU FIGHT US**

Akira sighs. Pulling his own phone out reveals identical texts from the twins. Why they felt like five in the morning would be the best time to text him and Goro, Akira doesn’t know. He could give them the benefit of the doubt, and assume that time isn’t comprehensible in the Velvet Room, but based on his past visits the twins are clearly aware of when he’s awake or not. Goro must have woken up earlier, or not even slept at all. Akira had sworn he had waited for Goro to fully fall asleep. Of course, neither of them had slept well because of the night’s events, and maybe the twins had thought that meant they were awake? Who knows. 

“I don’t feel like I can fight anything right now,” Goro says. Akira nods in agreement. 

**NO_NAME_FOUND: That is fine. As the keepers of power, we can restore your vitality temporarily.**

**NO_NAME_FOUND: THE TIME OF RECKONING IS SOON, IS IT NOT?**

**NO_NAME_FOUND: We would prefer that we do this sooner rather than later. We can sense that something will happen soon in this game of yours….**

**NO_NAME_FOUND: WE ALSO WANT YOU TO SHOW US THAT PLACE WE WERE TALKING ABOUT**

**NO_NAME_FOUND: It is a place where those filled with greed can satiate their desires through the ability to purchase whatever they can afford in a variety of stores.**

**NO_NAME_FOUND: WE AWAIT YOUR ARRIVAL**

The chat disappears moments after Caroline’s last text message, and Goro leans back against the wall to sigh. He does look really tired. Akira’s certain he has a similar pained expression of exhaustion on his own face. Goro looks over at him.

“At least it wasn’t Shido.” Goro grumbles. 

“He’ll be finished soon enough.” 

“That doesn’t stop him from harassing me in the meantime. But yes, at least he’ll be finished soon, I know. And I will make sure he regrets every last second of his existence before the change of heart kicks in. After that, hopefully the weight of his newly-made consciousness crushes him.” Goro says, his voice dark and ragged. Akira doesn’t want to know what Goro means by “making sure,” but it’s most certainly not going to end well for Shido. Akira doesn’t think he should try to stop Goro, either. Shido deserves whatever’s coming. 

“Speaking of him, Futaba’ll probably want us to help her prepare the calling card soon, yeah?” And there’s that wicked smile from Goro again.

“Thank you for reminding me. I still need to talk to her about that.” Goro breathes through that smile. It’s the absolute inverse of his TV face. Only the faintest traces of the guard he puts up are visible behind his eyes, and nothing here is acting. This is the real Goro Akechi. Akira can’t help but grin himself. 

“What’re you smiling for?” Goro says, noticing Akira’s expression.

“Oh, no reason in particular. I suppose we should at least take Caroline and Justine out to wherever they wanted to go.”

“You don’t remember where they wanted to go from the last time you did this?” Goro asks.

“I was very busy pretending to be dead, you know.” 

“Right, right. So then, where do you think they want us to take them?”

“I thought you were the detective here.”

“Piss off, Amamiya.” His tone is harsh, but his face is barely concealing a cheesy smirk.

“Calling me that now, are we?”

“I’m tired and have forgotten what your last name this time around is. You should’ve really considered not worming your way into my life so much that I’ve been calling you by your first name in my head.”

“That’s cute,” Akira snorts, and Goro scowls. “It’s Kurusu, just to jog your memory.” Goro grimaces, likely internally chastising himself for forgetting an important detail, while also groaning at Akira’s comment. 

“Back on the topic of the twins,” Goro says, “they said basically they wanted to go shopping, right?”

“And assuming they’re going to drag us to the Metaverse to fight them whether we like it or not, I would guess it would be the mall in Shibuya, then.”

“You didn’t even need my detective skills,” Goro says mockingly. Akira frowns.

Brushing off Goro’s comment, Akira says, “Considering what the twins said about being able to bring us to full strength, do you think we could fight?”  
“You know what I said about not feeling about fighting? I take that back. Considering it’ll be against them, and not against the bastard, I think I’ll be fine. And besides,” Goro curls his lip, “If fighting against them will make me stronger, then by all means. Also, where’s Morgana?” Akira looks around the room, and sees nothing of him.

“Probably with Futaba,” Akira says. 

After Sojiro shows up to open up the shop and Akira and Goro are able to wolf down some curry, they head on over to Shibuya’s central street. Akira’s glad that they don’t have to walk very far or take the train this time with them. They always attracted odd looks, and then those onlookers would notice Goro in their midst, and then the questions and frightening adoration would roll in. 

“Oh, the inmates actually came!” Caroline says, tapping her baton on the ground. 

“It seems as if our messages were an effective tactic to use when contacting the inmates.” Justine says, and Goro immediately shoots a dirty look at her. 

“Is there a problem with that, Inmate 2?” Caroline shouts, and stomps out in front of Goro. Just as she’s about to whack him with her baton, the door of Untouchable opens, and Iwai steps out for a smoke break. He fumbles in his pocket, presumably for his lighter, but freezes when he glances over at the scene playing out next to his shop.

“Kid? That you?” He says. 

“Just don’t ask,” Akira says, nodding. Iwai visibly sighs, and shakes his head. He fishes his lighter out, and lights his cigarette, leaning up against the wall. He seems to have already accepted it. It’s probably not the strangest thing he’s seen in his life, anyway, from the stories he’s told Akira while he was working there. Turning his attention back to the squabble next to him, Akira realizes that Justine has joined in, and now two girls half Goro’s height are arguing quite loudly with him. It’s a sight to behold.

“Stop staring and help me out here!” Goro says. Akira steps closer to them.

“Alright, do you two want to go to the mall or not?” Akira says, and both the twins stop.

“Yes, of course?! Bring us to this ‘mall’ you speak of!” Caroline says, completely distracted by Akira’s words. Justine nods, and the twins start following behind Akira. Goro walks behind the twins, keeping a wary eye on Caroline’s baton.

“Wow… the energy within here is immense,” Justine says, staring in amazement at the hustle and bustle around here. Caroline is similarly star-struck. Goro just looks uncomfortable.

“This place is a whirlpool of greed… greed from the sellers, and greed from the purchasers.” Caroline murmurs.

“Simple words like bonus and sale seem to carry immeasurable worth here, too. It’s a pity that these humans can’t see past their desires.” 

Caroline suddenly turns to Goro and Akira, saying, “I heard recently that the term for people who come here after falling into their desires is ‘lovey-dovey,’ is it not?” Goro snorts. 

“Usually that’s for simpering couples that just started dating, not regular people shopping,” he says, and Akira shoots him a sly look. Goro shakes his head, and thankfully, the twins didn’t seem to notice this passing, silent communication between them. 

“I see. From what I know, Caroline, these ‘lovey-dovey’ individuals are in pairs, and those pairs supposedly represent a harmonious relationship that may incite the rage of those around them.”

“Inmates, we would like to see some of these ‘lovey-dovey’ individuals.” Caroline declares, and starts walking in a random direction. Not wanting her to wander off too far, the three of them follow suit. Eventually, they wind up in front of a jewelry shop, where a couple inside goes from fawning over each other and the rings, to fighting, to the woman storming off, leaving the man dejected in front of the ring case.

“So these are the ‘lovey-dovey’ individuals. It’s shocking to me that they could be envied by others.” Justine says. 

“I don’t think many envy those with that many relationship problems,” Goro says derisively. 

“But yet, there are still those who want to be like them, are there not?” Caroline asks, and Goro shrugs.

“Say, Inmates,” Justine says, “are you envious of the true ‘lovey-dovey’ members of society?” Akira glances over at Goro, who’s set his face in stone, but the slightest flush of embarrassment dots his face. Akira smiles slightly, and pushes his glasses up on the bridge of his nose. 

“I’m lovey-dovey already,” he says, and the twins are taken aback.

“How repulsive. We thought you were more than just someone driven by desires.” Justine says. Goro chuckles, and Akira shoots him a look.

“Watching your mouth is a good skill to have, Akira.”

“You’re just as guilty as I am, Goro.” 

“What’s this about guilt now, Inmate 2?” Caroline says.

“You heard nothing. Are we done here?” Goro says. Caroline gives him a wary look, but then reaches into her pocket and pulls out the skill cards for them. 

“Inmates, you do know that we have one other request for you, right?” Justine says as Akira and Goro take their Heat Riser skill cards.

“Rather painfully so,” Goro says.

“Don’t sass us, Inmate 2!”

“And we were just about to tell you that you would be able to have your comrades with you during the battle,” Justine says. 

“But, then-” Akira starts to say, but is cut off by a look from Justine.

“We stated that we could restore your vitality, did we not? That is not the only thing we are capable of.”

“You may invite whoever you wish, and they will have no recollection of the battle.” Goro and Akira look at each other, silently deciding.

“Takamaki and Niijima will be our best bet, right?” Goro asks, and Akira nods.

“We will summon those two, then. Let us proceed to a location suitable for a fight.” Justine says, and they start their walk to the entrance of Mementos. 

Moments after they walk in, Makoto, Ann, and Futaba come in through the entrance door, almost as if they’re in a daze. 

“Sakura-san? We didn’t call her.” Goro asks, and Justine stares at him.

“Considering she is present in every battle, we thought it would be best to summon her, as well. We hope you’re ready. You should be feeling at full power right now.”

“This won’t be easy!” Caroline declares, and the world shifts to the blue of the Velvet Room. They have to still be in the Metaverse somehow, considering Yaldabaoth still has reign over the Velvet Room. The twins stand back to back, ready for anything. Akira has to think here. He orders Ann and Makoto to focus solely on debuffing and buffing with their Matarunda and Marakukaja skills respectively, while he and Goro concentrate. They immediately strike the party with strong physical attacks, which still hit hard, but not as hard as they would if they didn’t buff. They continue this cycle of buffing, concentrating, and striking the twins with Megidolaon until they drop to about 3/4ths of their health, where they switch from physical and gun attacks to magic attacks. This quickly becomes an issue, as their Bufu skills knock down Ann more than a few times. Thankfully, Akira’s got more than enough healing items, and is able to keep everyone standing.

“Shit!” Akira hears Goro screech once Caroline and Justine use Diarahan on each other. Akira’s thinking similarly, but he remains calm. That calmness is quickly washed away, however, as the twins switch to using Psi and Bless attacks, knocking down Goro and Makoto. Before Goro gets back up, Futaba buffs the party, which just seems to boost Goro’s rage at getting struck down. 

“Joker, you know what we need to do,” Goro says, and they dive into their showtime. They still do a good chunk of damage, but it doesn’t feel as intense as it usually does. Akira’s noticed in the past that Goro uses Berserk on himself when they do their showtime, but this time, his rage isn’t as palpable, his movements aren’t nearly as swift and decisive, and the angry red that emitted from his eyes is conspicuously absent. After the events on the ship, Akira’s not surprised in the slightest. 

They continue fighting, whittling away at the twins’ health, and trying to not have everyone knocked down at the same time. Akira’s fairly certain he doesn’t want that to happen. He doesn’t know if they’re capable of an All-Out Attack, but knowing their strength, they could easily wipe the floor with them all knocked down. Knowing this, Akira keeps Satanael equipped at all times. It’s got the skills he needs, and it won’t be suspect to getting knocked down by an elemental attack. 

The twins, low on health, start their final gambit, throwing out any attack they can. Akira gets lucky, and knocks out Justine, but on the next turn, Caroline resurrects her, leading to another shout of annoyance from Goro. The battle continues going fairly smoothly, however. Perhaps it’s the advantage of having two wildcards. Goro wisened up after the first Bless attack, and has been switching his personas nearly every turn.

“Guh… they are just as powerful as we expected.” Justine says as she falls from a concentrated Megidolaon, landing on top of a dazed Caroline. The blue world around them fades away, and Akira instantly feels his boosted vitality sap away from him. Goro, even under the mask, shows similar signs. The twins stand solemnly in front of them.

“It seems as if our rehabilitation is very effective.” 

“We would like to present you with this,” Caroline says, handing them both an item. A Victory Cup. Satanael already has the Victory Cry skill, so Akira isn’t quite sure what to do with it. Maybe he’ll give it to one of the other Thieves. Speaking of the other Thieves, Ann, Makoto, and Futaba have already left. 

“Thank you.” Goro says plainly, and the twins nod.

“We hope it will be of some use for your final stages of rehabilitation.” Caroline and Justine walk back to their positions in front of the Velvet Room door, and Goro and Akira take that as their cue to leave. 

“I assume our final stage of rehabilitation will be fighting Maruki, correct?” Goro asks as they walk out of the Metaverse.

“No, Yaldabaoth.”

“Right.” As Goro says this, both of their phones buzz. 

**Spooky Scary Phantom Thieves Round 2**

**12:37 pm**

**Queen: I don’t think I’ve had such a focused study session in my life…**

**Panther: Yeah, I just felt like I zoned out and then zoned back in and bam!**

**Panther: I can’t believe it’s been an hour.**

**Oracle: smae**

**Oracle: maybs I just fell asleep though**

**Skull: ok what is going on with you three**

**Skull: haru u good so ik its not just the girls comin down with somethin**

**Noir: I feel perfectly fine!**

**Noir: I was working on my indoor garden. Speaking of which, Yusuke, would you like some plant pictures?**

**Fox: That would be deeply appreciated.**

“Those girls do really scare me sometimes,” is all Goro has to say. 


	82. Chapter 82

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all had a great holiday season!

Akechi breathes a silent prayer. He stands in front of the large oak door leading to Shido’s office, waiting. Waiting for that final raging text, demanding his immediate presence to come through. No one had seen him slink up here, thankfully. They’re all going to be too busy once that calling card is deployed, anyway.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Sakura-san had asked him when he had approached her with his idea, “I mean, the calling card we’re doing is already pretty gutsy. But, you seriously want to do something like this?”

“Will there be any problems if I do?”

“I don’t think so, but I think you should clear it with Akira first.”

And so, he went to go speak with Akira, who wasn’t nearly as questioning, just gave him a hard face and said, “It’s up to you.” After he reconfirmed with Sakura-san that it was okay, the rest of the Thieves had set out prepping for the fight ahead. Akira had tried to tell him as much as he possibly could about what’s coming, but there was still the wrench of the cognition's existence thrown into the plans. Anything can happen at this point.

He taps his foot slowly. This is taking longer than he thought it would. He knows the rest of the Thieves are sitting in Leblanc, waiting for Sakura-san to press “go.” He’s got no idea what she’s cooked up exactly, but he hopes that it’s to the letter of what she wanted him to say.

**#$’ &#()”)0**

**7:49 pm**

**Alibaba: Crow, in position?**

**Crow: Affirmed.**

**Alibaba: Let us start the game, then** **ヽ(・∀・)ﾉ**

From behind the door, he can hear the familiar sound of static coming from the TV in Shido’s office. Sakura-san had claimed she would be able to hijack most TV networks, and Akechi hadn’t doubted her for a second. Mere seconds after the popping and crackling of the TV starts up, he can hear the distorted voice of one of the male Thieves crawl from the TV. Sakura-san said she wouldn’t distort his voice. Good. Something inside the room smashes down on the floor. 

“That brat!” Shido yells. How refined of him. The monster inside falls silent momentarily, and Akechi gets a bitter taste in his mouth. The silence before the storm is always the worst. It’s the same silence as the silence in his old apartment before he found his mother. It’s the same silence as the silence from an angry adult moments before they would strike him. It’s the same silence that he felt in the fleeting moments as his cognition appeared that first time, gun in hand. 

The storm doesn’t take long to begin, however. It never takes long. He feels his phone buzz quite intensely, first a blitz of texts, and then the first of what would be many calls rolls in. Akechi sits down on the chair next to the door. In a more refined society, this chair would simply be for those waiting to speak with their bosses. Akechi supposes this is similar, but not many subordinates wait for murder orders from their bosses, let alone wait outside their bosses offices to luxuriate in their inevitable downfall. He lets the phone ring, and then ring again. On the third call, Akechi answers.

“Goro Akechi. Get over here immediately. That is an order.” Akechi can tell that Shido’s barely keeping his voice together. It’s snappy, blunt, and forcibly measured.  _ Just like your own voice when you’re mad _ , some thought shivers up his brain stem. Akechi throws it aside. Who cares any more. Who cares if he’s like Shido. Shido’s going to cease being relevant soon. And Akechi will get the last laugh. 

“I was actually just near by. I’ll be there soon,” Akechi says, forcing his voice to stay away from the self satisfied purr it wants to be. He needs to be inconspicuous. The call drops, and another growl of frustration rings out from the office. Akechi’s shocked he hasn’t turned off the TV in there yet. Akechi stands slowly. He pulls out his phone, opens the MetaNav app, and hovers his finger over the transport button. He steps in front of the large door, and takes a deep breath. It’s showtime. 

He presses his hand on the door, and it creaks open. Akechi lets the door swing open, and he stands in the doorway, staring at Shido. Shido sits behind his desk, staring back, his chest puffed, eyes darkened, chin resting on his hand. A heavy stare rests between them, Shido’s eyes burning into Akechi’s lopsided glare. 

“The identity of that cowardly man is-” one of the distorted voices of the Phantom Thieves blares, before the screen suddenly shifts to no signal color bars. Akechi bites the inside of his cheek. Sakura-san can’t fail them now. God, he feels awful now. Relying on her so much while being the cause of his greatest pain. It’s nauseating, and changing Shido’s heart is only going to do so much. 

“You said that you killed their leader. And yet, like ants, they keep coming back. Tell me, Goro Akechi, why should you even be allowed a place in my world?” Akechi chokes back a laugh. If it weren’t for that man deciding that his dick was the most important part of his world, Akechi wouldn’t even be here. Before Akechi can say anything, the TV blinks back to life, the exaggerated icon of Morgana spinning while introducing Shido. Shido’s face hardens once his image pops up on the screen, and a barely concealed shake in his hands and arms hidden by his desk. Akechi braces himself. If Sakura-san did her part, then…

“And to prove that… Look! All of us are alive, and doing just fine!” Amongst the silhouettes stands his own crooked form, standing just behind Akira. Good. He isn’t revealed just yet. 

“You’re a failure. You couldn’t even take out  _ one _ measly person like I ordered!” Shido says, rising slowly, his arms supporting him, palms flat on the desk. Akechi keeps his face pleasantly blank. This is nothing.  _ This is NOTHING! _

“...we’re not gonna just laze around and not take action because of this crook and his own bullshit ego!” Sakamoto’s hazy figure says, standing to the left of Akira. Akechi’s moved up closer to Akira, standing just to his right, now. The video’s lighting is just enough to illuminate his mask. His face is mostly shadowed or covered by his mask, except for one small sliver, his screwed up, monstrous face smiling out at the crowd. 

“Justice is absolute,” his voice says. Distorted, yes, but if you listen, it’s obviously him. The line in retrospect is painfully cheesy, but the younger him, locked away inside him somewhere, demanded it. He’d ignored its demands for so long. 

“That’s right, ain’t it, Leader?” Sakamoto says, pushing Akira into the limelight. 

“Yes. We will save this country.” Akira says, and then the “camera” shifts to Akira and Akechi. Out of the corner of Akechi’s eye, he can see Shido fully standing, waves of rage emanating off of him. 

“And I will ensure that follows through. We both understand, yes? Masayoshi Shido, no, father, you have ruined my life and countless others, including mine and my dear  _ Joker’s _ .” The video cuts out, showing only the Phantom Thieves logo, before returning to regular programming.

“You…” Shido sputters, “You. You dare throw all the opportunity I’ve given you away? Tarnish my name and consort with Thieves? Why did I ever give you even a smidgen of a chance? You have no right to be even looking upon me right now, even if you are my son.” Akechi keeps his face cold, and says nothing. Shido clenches his fists. 

“You think you’re so good that you don’t even have to say anything to me. What do you think would happen once those little Thieves find out what you’ve done? You’re a murderer, after all.” Blankness. He needs blankness. In his mind, the strong, silent Hereward blankets the rest of his personas. That false sense of inflated, childish justice from his Robin Hood side has quieted, as well as the violent rage of Loki. Hereward, in its silent justice, stands tall. 

“Respond to me!”

Silence.

“Prideful little brat.”

Silence. 

“Tell me why I shouldn’t get rid of you right now.”

Silence.

“Goro Akechi.”

“You have no right to say my name.” Akechi’s hand clenches in his pocket. His phone is still wrapped in his fingers.

“And what makes you say that? I made you into what you are. You would still be stuck in whatever trash heap you crawled out of if it weren’t for me elevating you to the forefront of society.”

“That doesn’t matter if your plan all along was to get rid of me, anyway.” Shido seems momentarily taken aback. Akechi continues, “Whether or not I suddenly decide to sabotage the Thieves, whether or not I go in there to fight them, I will still be killed by you in the end. Rising to the top of the world is the goal you wanted. You  _ forced _ it on me! You-”

“I will hear no such blasphemy-!”

“And yet, I’m still here.” Akechi doesn’t want to disappear on him randomly. No. Shido must know the exact moment he knows he fucked up. Shido’s words catch on his teeth. Akechi takes the chance, “I only went along with it to see you like this right now. Don’t you get it? Don’t you understand that you’re-”

“I have a plan to deal with your little simpering friends. Nothing is going to get in my way. And whatever plan you cooked up in that dumbass head of yours ends now.” Shido shuffles in his desk, and without thinking, Akechi slams his thumb down on the MetaNav’s guidance button. As the world swirls away, he sees Shido’s face contort into something awful, his hand pointing something in Akechi’s way. Like father, like son, huh. If a problem won’t get out of your way, you shoot. As the world fades away, the sound of chains snapping fills his brain again. I am thou, thou art I, thou hast turned a vow into a blood oath. Devil at rank 10. Not something Akechi’s shocked by, but the last rank 10 was because of a kiss. A groveling apology from Shido would’ve been a more satisfying rank up, but whatever. He can’t be a winner with everything. But what did Shido mean when he said that he had a plan to deal with the Thieves? 

Well, it’s not something he can worry about right now. The security level in this Palace is so high that Akechi can feel his skin itch under his suit. His personas, previously silenced by Hereward, scream out in joy in his brain.  _ Finally, someone will die for us!  _ Alice cries. Loki lets lose a rumbling growl, and the Narcissus he picked up in Shido’s palace chuckles in agreement. And Akechi can’t help smiling himself. No matter how much he thinks he’s grown as a person over this past cycle, he still feels some sick sense of happiness here. He supposes he shouldn’t be in the wrong for watching the man who ruined his life shatter in front of him in glee, but a few would disapprove of the detective prince doing that. Fuck them. 

The Thieves are nowhere in sight, meaning that they’re most likely already inside. Akechi kicks the ground, readies his sword, and strides in with purpose. There’s few ‘guests’ left in the main entry hall, all of which stop and stare at Akechi’s sudden entrance, before cowering. Good. Shido needs to understand. He  _ will _ understand. 

He steps in front of the garish doors to the representative’s hall. From the outside, he can hear the sounds of booming loudspeakers, as well as many footsteps. He shoves the door open. The Thieves are all clamoring up a rapidly moving platform, trying to get up before the ceiling closes. Seeing the situation at hand, Akechi darts up to the platforms, scurrying up just behind Kitagawa. As the floor shuts tight under them, the grotesque form of Shadow Shido morphs into existence. A chariot made of humans? How fitting. 

“Do not think of me as being on the same level as my tratorious son.” Shadow Shido snarls. “Speaking of whom,” he continues, “I thought I had given you more than enough warning. Deal with him first.” Shadow Shido gestures noncommittally to some patch of darkness, and that… thing reemerges. 

“Hell no! Our leader’s gone through shit because of you, and all of Japan will if you get elected! One little cognition ain’t going to be a problem for us!” Sakamoto cries. 

“I’d like to see you brats try.” Shadow Shido says, and his little puppet twists. 


	83. Chapter 83

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writers block is a sledgehammer and I am merely an old rickety door.

Akira watches. He watches the horrified faces of the Phantom Thieves contrast Goro’s thinly veiled rage. He watches his own hand shake, and then grip on his knife with a renewed sense of vigor. He watches Shadow Shido’s face flip up into a pleased smile. And he watches the form of Cognitive Akechi fall away, a smoky figure rising out from the crumbling bits of Metaverse material. It’s the form of a human, but with six arms, each holding a different weapon: some firearms, a couple knives, and one of them a long, serrated saw. A bag covers its face, cinched tightly with a cord around its neck. Akira glances down near the cognition’s feet. On the floor, thin black chains snake from the cognition’s ankles to Shido’s chariot. 

“What a revolting sight.” Yusuke mutters, and readies his blade. The forward guard of Akira, Goro, Makoto, and Ann step forward, and before they can even blink, the cognition lunges at them, slashing blindly, before a sudden jerk of the tethers at its feet yanks it backwards and brings it to a fighting position. Noticing the opening, Akira watches Goro lunge at the cognition of himself, nearly mirroring the previous strike from the cognition. For a split second, Akira wonders what exactly went down between him and Shido earlier. The cognition’s “true” form was doll-like, a mere imitation of a child’s first marionette, but it still looked human. Something had to have happened to cause this change. 

Just as that thought finishes passing through Akira’s mind, Goro’s saber makes contact with the cognition, and his body ragdolls backwards. He manages to land on his feet, and skids to a stop next to Akira. 

“Crow didn’t do anything to him!” Futaba’s voice buzzes in Akira’s ear. 

“Shocker,” Goro growls. Akira doesn’t take the same risk, assuming that the cognition reflects physical moves, and fires off a Megidolaon. It hits, and the cognition stumbles over its chains only slightly, before being yanked back up by Shido. Ann concentrates, but Makoto’s Freidyne hits just fine. Before Goro can move, the cognition teeters backwards for a second, and after being righted, it dives straight for Goro again. Goro jumps out of the way, and summons Hereward to retaliate with a Megidolaon of his own.

“Crow, don’t-!” Futaba’s voice screams in Akira’s ear, but it’s too late. The usual sphere of light from the Megidolaon rickochets off of the cognition, and barrels directly for Goro. Akira can’t do anything in time, other than to scream for him to guard. Thankfully, the Megidolaon doesn’t knock Goro off his own feet, but he’s obviously shaken. He watches Goro tense, and then shoot his gaze into Shadow Shido. He’s too far away to see his expression, but his words say enough.

“Don’t you get it already?” Shido says. 

“I never will.” Goro says, his voice thick with disdain. Shido flicks his hand, and the cognition sails forward again. As it gets yanked back to its position, a small thought pops into his mind. 

“Queen,” he murmurs, hoping that their communication tool picks it up.

“Yes, Joker?” 

“Next time it attacks Crow, try to shoot the chains on its feet.” 

“Acknowledged.” Makoto says, and the hot blast of a concentrated Agidyne rips past Akira. Goro moves next, but instead of trying to attack the cognition, he simply casts Debilitate. This seems to work, as the cognitions movements become ever so slightly sluggish. This is further shown by the sloppiness of its attacks as it charges at Goro. Makoto leaps to the sideline, aims, and fires, taking out one of the tethers. It dissolves for a second, but then the viscous black liquid covering the chain recongeals, pulling the cognition’s left foot backwards as the chain shortens. It stumbles, tripping flat onto its face. Akira attempts to initiate a Hold Up to hit the cognition with an All-Out Attack, but just as the Thieves surround it, Shido yanks it back up.

“Only for as long as I prop up Akechi will he find any success in this world.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Goro shouts at him, and without even hesitating or listening for an order from Akira, he lunges at the chains at the cognition’s feet. Shido pulls him away in the nick of time, sending Goro’s saber crashing down onto the floor below. Goro jumps back to the line, face clearly enraged. Akira can feel the back of his neck prickle. 

“Crow, relax,” Akira says, and Goro turns his eyes to Akira. 

“He needs to die.” Goro says, and tries to wind up another attack.

“Yaldabaoth is amping you again.  _ Relax _ .” Akira says, his voice more forceful this time. A flash of passing recognition blinks through Goro’s face, and the rage in his eyes quiets. Even though Goro seems to no longer be using Berserk, Akira can still feel the hot crawl of its power on his neck. He shakes it off the best he can. 

“Panther, Queen, after I attack, shoot the chains.” 

“Understood, Joker.”

“Let’s get them, Queen!” Ann says, and Akira fires off another Megidolaon. As Shido attempts to right the stumbling cognition, they blast bullets into the chain, Ann’s submachine gun does more damage than Makoto’s revolver, but even then it isn’t enough to completely sever the connection. Akira hears a grunt of frustration come from Goro next to him, and then the sound of a gun being removed from a holster.

“Crow, don’t you-” Akira starts to say, but it’s too late. Akira braces for the bullet to reflect, and readies Ishtar in his mind, the Mediarahan primed and ready.

And yet. The bullet passes cleanly through the chain. It doesn’t magically sever the connection, as the chain still knits itself back together.

“Seems like I can hit that, at least,” Goro says. The damage to the chains has yanked the cognition’s left leg back awkwardly, causing it to get stuck in a lunging position. It still springs to attack anyway, but it seems to rely more on Shido’s shoving. Its longsword is able to slash Ann with a lucky strike though, and she winces. Akira casts another Megidolaon, and Makoto casts Mediarama. Ann takes another potshot at the cognition’s chains, throwing it further off balance. Akira turns to order Goro to shoot at the chains, but instead he stares at empty space in the spot where Goro once stood. He looks ahead. Goro sprints at the cognition, to the befuddled stares of everyone here. 

“You really think this is going to do anything for you, Goro Akechi?” Shido’s voice booms. Goro screams something intelligible, and starts hacking away at the chain, each slash of his sword sending more chunks of the black goop covering the chain into the air. The chain still continues to attempt to reform, but Goro doesn’t cease his attacks. He still seems manic. But, at this point, Akira’s not so sure if he can even scream for Goro to attempt to undo Berserk without serious consequences. Akira instead takes this moment to unload a few of his own bullets into the cognition. It stumbles some more, and then falls flat on its face once more, one of its knives skittering away from it. Shido grumbles. 

“This is what I get for involving the weak, I suppose. Akechi, final orders.” The cognition slowly rises.

“Crow, get out of there! Everyone, guard! Huge power spike!” Futaba yells. 

“No!” Goro yells back, and runs towards Shido’s chariot.

“You need to guard!” Akira says, but Goro doesn’t stop. Akira can only pray to some god out there that Goro has a plan. The cognition brings the blade of its saw to its body, and where it makes contact, its form literally begins to crack. Power leaks out from the widening seam, blinding Akira, and singeing his skin. He peeks as well as he can out of one eye, and watches Goro slash at the legs of the chariot, before suddenly vaulting up onto the chariot with Shido.

“What are you-“

“Let me have this, Joker.” Goro says with finality. Goro turns to Shido. Even with the light from the cognition making his vision blur, Akira watches him stand in front of Shadow Shido.

“Here to beg?”

“Fuck you.” Goro says, and then there’s a whirl of red as his sword flashes through the air. Something drops between Goro and Shido. The chains go slack, and the cognition splits down its seam, exploding in a brilliant flash of light. Akira feels the energy sap from his body

“Damn you. You think just because you have friends and people you rely on-“

“Fight us yourself, coward.” And with a flick of his cape, the fight against Shido begins. Nothing much is different from the fight last time, except with Goro and Shido’s scathing, and frankly, childish insults serving as extra background noise along with the roar of the ship’s engine, and the buzzing of fight music from some unseen speaker.

“Do-nothing brat at the bottom of society!”

“Who put me there? Oh right, someone who can’t even do anything without roping in others and ruining their lives!”

“And yet, you still went along with my plans. Doesn’t that say something about you that you were willing to ruin others lives just as willingly as I? Willing to kill a little girl’s mom? Willing to kill more parents? More happy people?”

“I had no choice.” Goro snarls out. Even without the other Thieves on 

“You had all the choices in the world.”

“I was 15, Masayoshi Shido. You’re at fault.” Goro says, and slashes down on the pyramid. It collapses back into the chariot form, and Shido stands in front of it. He spits on the ground.

“I suppose petty Thieves and traitors are not to be dealt with lightly. But even then, groups are nothing without a leader. You there, black jacket. You’re the gnat that keeps coming back, aren’t you”

“He ruins Joker’s life, and he doesn’t even recognize him!” Ann marvels. 

“Joker, eh. That’s what you brats call him? What a silly name. Reminds me of something, though. I just can’t put my finger on it.”

“What a scumbag,” Ryuji says.

“Am I supposed to remember every inconsequential brat in Japan?” Shido says, and Akira locks eyes with him. Just as he did last time, Akira peels off his mask. Shido’s face flips from bemusement, to realization, to abject horror, before settling into an almost self-satisfied smile.

“What makes you think you can smile? We are going to crush you. I will make sure of that.” Goro says. Shido chuckles merrily. 

“Oh, I see now. I suppose I should have made you have an unfortunate accident, after all. Cockroaches only keep coming back unless you completely kill them.” Shido snarls his last line, and transforms into his next phase. The fight continues as normal, as the Thieves unleash a whirlwind of attacks into the grotesquely buff Shadow. Akira keeps an eye out for any strange disturbances in energy, both from Goro and Shido. Even with Goro claiming he has Berserk under control, there’s no way to know when the next time Yaldabaoth tries to amp him will be. There’s also the matter of Shido. Akira knows he’s almost certainly going to try to cut off him or another one of the Thieves from the group again. If it weren’t for Goro being here, he’d expect it to be him, but who knows anymore? No one knows anything anymore. He hasn’t known since Goro walked into the Leblanc just a few days after his return to Tokyo. 

A piercing wail fills the room as Goro slashes deeply into Shido with his saber. Over the comms, Akira hears Futaba celebrate, and she tells them to go get the Treasure. Akira stays firmly rooted to his spot. There’s still more. Shido screams once more, the whirling red smoke of the Metaverse curling around him.  _ Not unlike when Goro uses Berserk _ . Akira kicks himself for even having a thought like that. 

“How are you still beating me?” He yells, “Don’t you understand? Us at the top of society have the power! Not brats like you!”

“Shut your goddamn mouth, Shido,” Goro fires back. Shido doesn’t exactly respond to this, instead turning into his final form. Akira takes a deep breath. Now or never. After a few more hits from the Thieves, Akira watches Shido’s face slowly swell with rage. Unconsciously, he stands closer to Goro. What on earth is he doing? If he was being smart, then he’d move as far away from the Thieves as possible. 

“Why won’t you all disappear already?” Shido says, “I suppose I should do what I should’ve done from the beginning; I will take care of that traitor and that… that bastard that dared step out of his place.” The walls fly up around them. Goro visibly twitches with rage, and Akira can feel power seeping into him. 

“Crow-“ he tries to say, but something wraps around his throat. The power surging through his mind floods him. He desperately tries to think, tries to call out to someone. It’s no use. Not like anyone would be able to come in here, anyway. All he needs to do now is kill Shido for what he’s done. 

“Mere ants like you will no longer stand in my way. This time, you can be certain that you will never step outside of here again!” Shido says. Goro doesn’t even hesitate, Alice lunging out of his body. An Eigaon cuts across the battlefield, and Akira switches to Yoshitsune, slicing into Shido with Hassou Tobi. Shido retaliates with Tyrant’s Judgement, knocking Goro off his feet, and follows it up with a Heat Riser. Goro gets back up, and turns to Akira, eyes aflame.

“Joker. Let’s end this.” Akira gives him a stiff nod. 

“It’s showtime.” 

Shido lays face down on the ground, one arm under him, pathetically trying to push himself up. The Thieves surround him, watching his every move. Akira’s body is still flush with power, a little voice in his head screaming at him to shoot Shido, end this reign forever. And yet, somehow, the voice of reason is able to shove that thought aside.

“You’re going to go back to your body and atone for what you’ve done.” Yusuke says, and Shido nods. Even with that agreement, Goro doesn’t seem to truly believe him. Goro steps forward, and kneels in front of Shido, sword hovering over his neck. 

“If you don’t confess to every crime you’ve done, every way you’ve failed society, I will be back,” he says, and Akira watches him push the flat of his blade into his neck.

“I’ll do it. I swear I’ll do it. Please don’t kill me.” Shido pleads. Goro removes his saber from his neck.

“How pathetic. Get this coward’s treasure and we’re leaving.” Goro says, and grabs the steering wheel. He spits on it. 

“Shall we get-“ Ann starts, but gets cut off by the sound and shaking of an explosion somewhere in the distance. 

“Run!” Morgana yowls. 

They run out onto the deck of the ship, and something rockets through Akira’s mind. This was where they thought they had lost Ryuji last time. Akira can’t have them go through that again. He doesn’t know where this thought is coming from. Maybe it’s lingering effects of Berserk twisting his mind, but he sees no other option. Even though he knows, deep down, everyone will be fine. But he just can’t. 

“Look, a lifeboat!” Makoto says. 

“I’ll get it,” Ryuji says, and all the Thieves stop briefly. Akira puts a hand on his shoulder, stopping him. If he stops to think any longer, he won’t do this.  _ He has to do this _ . He sprints. 

“Joker!”

“Joker, get your ass back here right now!” 

“I was going to do that!” Akira doesn’t care. He’s never felt more powerful running in his life. He keeps sprinting, his feet pounding into the beam. He watches the Thieves down below crawl into the boat. He smashes the switch down, releasing the boat into the water. A nearby explosion causes the beam he’s standing on to swing out, and he clambors onto it in the same position Ryuji was hanging in last time. The lifeboat putters close, but Akira knows he won’t be able to make it down in time. Another explosion rocks close, and then another, and then another, and then he drops. Someone screams. 

His body makes contact with the freezing water, which transforms into the scratch of cool concrete against his cheek, and he gets up. He looks around him. No distortions of the Metaverse. Guess he’s back in the real world, then. As he starts walking to where they went into the Metaverse, something pummels through his mind.

_ What a monumentally stupid move, Trickster. Now they’re going to be terrified, and it’s all your fault.  _


	84. Chapter 84

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for disappearing for so long, but things have gotten quite hectic here in Yikestown. I'll be trying to write at least one chapter a week from here on out, cause I genuinely missed yall. 
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading.

The Thieves spill out from the Metaverse, stumbling over each other in front of the mostly-abandoned Diet Building. No one is around to hear the strangled sobs coming from the group. Or the slam of a fist into a pole. Or the scrape of a foot slamming into concrete. Or-

“That self-sacrificing son of a bitch!” Goro snarls. He hastily steps away from the group. Blinking through tears, Haru looks over at him. 

“Akechi-kun-”

“I don’t know what’s going on here!” Goro cries out, his face twisted in a mess of fury and tears, “Nothing should have gone wrong this time!” His voice catches on those last two words, a look of realization and  _ oh-shit-I-fucked-up _ dawning on his face. Ryuji looks over at Goro, eyes wide.

“Whaddya mean ‘this time?’” Ryuji says, voice trembling slightly. Goro just stares at him. That expression is one that Ryuji has never seen on Goro, let alone any of the other Phantom Thieves.

“It doesn’t matter,” Goro says cryptically, and then turns on his heel. He walks off towards an inconspicuous office building, the sounds of his footsteps growing fainter. 

Ann wipes her eyes, and looks up at Goro’s fading silhouette. She doesn’t have the foggiest idea about where he could be going other than-

“Shido.” Makoto whispers. 

“We’ve defeated him, haven’t we?” Yusuke says. Like Ryuji, no tears fall from his eyes, but there’s a quiver in his words, an insincerity that begs to be relieved.

“No that’s- If everything went well, yes. But, what I meant was, is, that Akechi-kun is going after Shido.”

“Why would he do that? We’ve changed his heart!” Morgana says, his little kitty face scrunched up. 

“Don’t any of you realize that Akira’s gone?!” Futaba wails, and everyone falls silent for a moment. 

“Yeah, that’s, that’s why I think Akechi-kun’s going to Shido. He probably thinks that- well, I don’t know what he thinks.” Makoto says, her eyes rimmed with red, but a strange, solid look of determination setting her face. She looks over at Ryuji and Yusuke.

“Something you need, Makoto?” Ryuji says.

“I think someone should follow him.” Makoto says sternly. Yusuke looks over at Ryuji, and Ryuji looks over at Yusuke. They seem torn, but then Ryuji just shakes his head.

“I’ll go.” Yusuke nods appreciatively at Ryuji’s words, and then Ryuji runs off, trying to trail Goro from a distance as well as he possibly can. From where he stands, he can see the slight sag in his body, mirroring his walking style in the Metaverse. Once Goro walks into the building, Ryuji runs to go catch up with him. 

Goro walks through the hallway, acutely aware of the phantom thief trailing him. He doesn’t care. Whatever little plan the Thieves have just cooked up in order to try to stop him won’t work. He doesn’t care anymore. Shido’s taken everything from him. Those damn Palaces have taken everything from him. And that god of control? He must be delighted at Goro’s misery. In the back of his brain, Goro can almost hear the jeering.  _ See, you should have just listened! You denied my power, and look where that got you. Every little attempt you try to take to make things better for yourself always fails, doesn’t it? It makes you feel the true weakness of humanity, doesn’t it? _

“Shut up,” he mumbles.

“Sorry?” Goro hears Sakamoto say, and he just shakes his head.

“It doesn’t matter.” Goro says, and he just speeds up his pace. He knows somewhere in this building is where Shido and his lackeys are. Shido’s probably bawling his eyes out, sobbing that he’s such a horrible little person who’s committed so many sins against humanity. Those around him are probably panicking, shocked that the Phantom Thieves could have ever gotten to him. And at least one person is probably ordering-

“Find Goro Akechi!” a vaguely familiar voice thunders from down a hallway. 

“Y-yes sir, I’ll see to it right-”

“I don’t care about what you’re saying, just find him!” the man roars again. Goro turns his head slightly to Sakamoto.

“If I were you right now, I’d be hiding.” he says, and Sakamoto gets the message. Goro steps close to where he heard the voice coming from, and subtly wipes at his eyes. He plasters his gaudy detective prince expression on as a finishing touch. The panicked guy rounds the corner just as Goro turns around it himself, and nearly crashes into him himself.

“I heard someone was calling for me? I got notified of the situation and came over as-”

“Ohmygodwherehaveyoubeenthebossisgonna-”

“Slow down, my good sir.” Goro says calmly, but the man’s already panicked expression intensifies, and he almost yelps. 

“The boss is looking for you, uh, something, something real bad’s going on and I don’t know what it is since they won’t let me in the room and uh-”

“So this is where your lollygagging gets you? Tell me why you shouldn’t lose your job right now for your ineptitude!” the man, who was shouting earlier, suddenly says from behind Goro. Goro turns around, flashing that same calm smile he gave the panicking subordinate. 

“I came right away when someone informed me of the situation, sir.”

Around the corner, Ryuji shakes his head. He’s still attempting to follow at a distance. If anything goes down, he knows he needs to be at least there to tell the Thieves what happened. Plus, it’s a good way to keep his mind off the subject of Akira. 

Goro follows behind the bellowing man, and is led to a sickeningly familiar door. The man knocks, and the door swings open. It’s exactly as Goro envisioned: Shido, crying pathetically, multiple lackeys on their phones, and a warm feeling of satisfaction settling in his gut. But he can’t feel that yet. The job isn’t done. 

“I have brought him here to explain himself,” the man says, grabbing Goro’s arm roughly, and shoves him into the room. As Goro stumbles into the room, Shido looks up at him. Their eyes meet. 

“I’m sorry, Akechi-kun.” Shido says.

“You don’t have any right to be saying anything.” Goro says in response, and Shido nods.

“I understand. Oh, god, what have I done?” Shido chokes out another muffled sob, and Goro feels nothing. Utterly nothing. That feeling of satisfaction from earlier is gone, replaced by a hollow void. He can feel Hereward settle into that void, filling it with strong silence. 

“I think you should know just how you,” Goro flashes his expression at the rest of the people scattered in the room, “you, and all of the rest of you for that matter, have ruined my life.” He doesn’t care anymore. Everything he has that he can care for is gone. 

“Goro Akechi, were you colluding with the Phantom Thieves?” the bellowing man from earlier turns toward him and says. Does it really even matter if he says anything? They’re most likely going to arrest him anyway. 

“It doesn’t matter.” 

“What do you mean ‘it doesn’t matter?’ Last I checked, we were the ones who were bankrolling your entire life. We can end everything for you right now. No future, no present, you’ll just go back to being some scum off the street.” Goro keeps his eyes level with the man.

“What else do you think you can take?”

“Your apartment, for starters, and every possible chance of you ever getting a job ever again.”

“Those don’t matter to me. Your forcing of me to tamper with the Metaverse, as well as simply trying to control the Metaverse itself, has taken everything.”

“I think you have the Phantom Thieves to blame for that. And you still haven’t answered the question. Did you collude with the Phantom Thieves, Goro Akechi?” A sniffle darts into their argument.

“Whatever the Phantom Thieves have done has saved me,” Shido says, and the bellowing man’s face looks like it’s ready to burst. 

“Akechi, you have one minute to explain what exactly they’ve done to him. Otherwise, you’re under arrest.”

Goro scoffs, “Prison doesn’t matter. Nothing matters anymore. All I can say is that your Palace, Masayoshi Shido, is gone. And it’s destroyed everything that mattered.”

Akira walks, unsteady, across the cool stones of the path. He needs to find the Thieves. He needs to let them know that he’s okay. And he needs to get Yaldabaoth’s voice out of his head. It hasn’t stopped mocking him since he crash landed back in the real world. It carries on, telling him what a stupid decision he made. But as he walks, another strange comment emerges.  _ You really think that you can trust him? He’s barely in control of his own power. He used the amp on you, don’t you realize? That’s something that should be taken care of, isn’t it? _

Akira purses his lips, and keeps walking. He tries to imagine Lavenza’s face, as some weird sort of safeguard against the voice. And he imagines Goro. God, he hopes he’s okay. He remembers the devastation on the other Thieves’ faces when they thought they had lost Ryuji. With that mental image in his head, he quickens his pace, nearly running. In the distance, he can vaguely hear the sound of someone crying. Shit. He stumbles out into the open area where the rest of the Thieves were dumped out of the Metaverse. Futaba’s squatting on the ground, sobbing her eyes out, and Ann and Makoto seem to be trying to comfort her. Haru’s crying as well, but she’s giving them some space. Yusuke and Morgana stand a little farther away, with Yusuke’s face set in stone. Akira doesn’t want to startle them, but he really doesn’t have any other choice. He walks up to them, stepping louder than usual. Yusuke glances up, and gasps.

“Akira? But-” the other Thieves look up at him.

“You- Akira? You’re alive?” Futaba sobs, and then stands up. Akira braces for a punch, but instead is nearly toppled over by her crushing him into a hug. 

“I’m still here,” Akira says, “Where are Goro and Ryuji?” 

“Akechi-kun ran off, and Ryuji followed him. I don’t know where he went though, but I think he’s going to Shido.” Makoto says. Akira nods. 

“I need to do something real quick.” Akira says, and the Thieves nod. He trots off to a corner, and pulls out his phone. 

“Answer that call right now. That’s an order,” the bellowing man says, gesturing to Goro’s pocket, “And put it on speaker, too!” Goro slides his phone out, and barely even glances at the screen. Barely. But that quick flash of a look is enough for him to see the name “Joker” glow back at him. Something chokes in his throat. 

“Answer it!”

Goro presses the accept button, and is met with dead air for a second.

“Was it some sort of scam call? Gah, worthless.” the man says. But somehow, unless this is some cruel trick played by fate, Goro can hear the wheels turning in Akira’s head. Of course, whatever bright idea he came up with probably won’t work now that he’s basically confessed, even without directly acknowledging his involvement with the Thieves. But he hears a small cough from the other end of the line.

“Goro Akechi, considering the high profile of your case, as well as Masayoshi Shido’s, I wanted to call to personally tell you, as the leader of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, that your heart has been changed.”

The bellowing man turns to Goro, eyes squinted, “Did you receive a calling card, Goro Akechi?” 

“Of course he did. I changed his heart myself.” Akira says, and Goro can almost see the smirk on his face. How could Goro believe he had died? The man had already cheated death prior to this. 

“Then who was it on the calling card video…?” another one of Shido’s lackeys murmurs, and the bellowing man whirls to him.

“That doesn’t matter! You understand the stakes of this case, do you not?” Goro notices the distraction, and begins to sway slightly.

“You Thieves… I’ll- ngh,” Goro says in faux stress, swaying more dramatically now, feigning a headache. He lets himself stumble slightly. The bellowing man looks over at him.

“You- really? Doctor, come over here!” Goro quickly hangs up the call.

“I- I need to go home. I don’t feel right.” Goro says, continuing to feign pain. The doctor tries to help him up, but he swats his hand away.

“So that’s why he wasn’t making much sense earlier. The Thieves were fiddling with his heart all this while!” another lackey in the corner says.

“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.” Goro says, and then stumbles to his feet, “I’m gonna go.” 

“You can’t just-”

“I need to go. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Goro says, and stumbles out. As soon as he’s out of eyeline of the people in the room, he rounds the corner, pulls his phone back out, and calls Akira again.

“You bastard.” is the first thing out of Goro’s mouth.

“You know I don’t die that easily.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. I need you to tell Sakura-san to do something.”

“What is it?”

“Tell her to hack the cameras in here. I don’t need any record of me coming or going with Sakamoto.”

“On it. And please tell him I’m alive, yeah?”

“He’s right here,” Goro says, rounding the corner to Sakamoto’s hiding spot, “Akira’s alive, by the way.” Ryuji’s face suddenly lights up like a kid on Christmas. 

“Right. How could I’ve thought our leader died?”

“Let’s get going.” Goro says.

Goro and Akira walk up to each other. Akira wants to reach out to him, give him a hug, but now is not the time or place. And with the arrival of him and Ryuji, a few tense looks have spread across the faces of the Thieves. 

“What’s wrong?” Akira asks.

“Well, first you go die on us-” Futaba says.

“We want you to explain to us what Akechi-kun meant by ‘no one dying this time.’” Makoto says. Akira bites the inside of this cheek. He knew this was going to happen.

“We’ll talk at Leblanc. We’ll draw too much suspicion here.” Goro says.

“Fine. But you need to tell us everything.” 


	85. Chapter 85

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so I've been playing strikers and I'm pretty much done with the game and yall... You gotta play this if you are able to. It's amazing.

Akechi’s blood still pumps red-hot through his veins, a steady thrum of anger pushing his every step. He knows he should’ve calmed down by this point. Akira is alive. Akechi himself is alive. Shido’s most likely being strapped to a hospital bed, with no information about his whereabouts being sent out to anyone but Shido’s inner circle. And the rest of the Thieves, although shaken, seem fine. But there’s also strange looks being passed between them, some cold, some still wracked with sadness. Akechi bites the inside of his cheek, and glances over at Akira. Akira’s face is stoic. He looks like he’s trying to remember something. But that would have to wait for later, at Leblanc.

The Thieves board the empty train car to make their way back to Yongen-Jaya, that same heavy silence still hanging between all of them. It’s different from the silence that usually hangs between him and Akira when they’re home alone at Leblanc. That silence is comforting. This feels like he’s standing in front of Shido all over again, listening to him demand request after request of him. Akechi sighs. Even after all this time, he still feels disconnected from the Thieves. In some attempt to try to ignore the pressing weight of the air around him, Akechi looks over at Akira again. Akira chews on the end of his thumb, blankly staring at the monitor for the train. Akechi glances up at it himself, and freezes when he notices what’s on screen.

“Akechi-kun?” he hears Okumura-san say behind him, and a sudden waterfall of shocked noises erupts from the scattered thieves.

“What do they mean? Ryuji, what happened there?” Kitagawa says. Sakamoto stares at the screen, befuddled. Akechi turns his eyes back to the screen. A severe looking news reporter sits at her desk, an image of himself from one of his social media PR posts smiling sickeningly back at him. Her mouth moves soundlessly, but the words scrolling under her say enough. Missing, it declares. It scrolls a little farther; the words “last seen near the National Diet Building” and “may be a possible danger to himself or others” skitter across the screen. 

“May be a danger… Guess they fell for whatever you did in there to get them off your back,” Sakamoto muses out loud, but Niijima turns her steely eyes to him.

“Akechi-kun, what happened?” she says, her voice sounding a little too much like Sae-san’s. 

“Was Akira not near you when he called me?” 

“No, I went over in a corner,” Akira says, and then turns to Niijima, “I called him, and pretended that we had changed his heart.” Niijima blanches. 

“So that’s why they seemed so panicked,” Sakamoto says, “Wonder why they let you go.” 

“Probably too concerned about Shido,” Akechi says, but there’s another weird look on Akira’s face. Akechi raises a quizzical eyebrow, and Akira mouths one word to him.

“Yaldabaoth.” Akechi understands instantly, and nods his head. Of course Yaldabaoth would mettle. Throwing Akechi a bone by letting him get away from the Diet building, but reminding him he had the power of control by influencing the world in a way that would directly affect him. How smooth. But, of course, Akira and Akechi could be totally wrong, and it was actually done out of someone’s concern for Akechi’s well being. Knowing the people in that room though, the chances of that were next to nothing. At most, it would be one of the higher ups realizing they have both a blubbering Shido, and a stupid boy who could easily go run his mouth to the press. But whatever the reason is, it’s enough reason for Akechi to pull his emergency paparazzi disguise hoodie from his briefcase, put it on, and yank the hood over his head. 

“You think we’ll be alright having him with us?” Takamaki says, a worried look on his face.

“It would be dumb if he went off on his own,” Kitagawa says, “Let us hurry to the hideout.” 

As they make their way back to Leblanc, Akechi hears muffled muttering coming from the people around them.

“Did you see the calling card? I never doubted the Phantom Thieves once!” 

“Phantom Thieves? Why do they matter? I’m more concerned about who’s going to lead this country.”

“Did you see the message about Akechi-kun? Maybe he finally broke from the stress of his managers.”

“No way, not my Akechi-kun! This is definitely to draw up drama, especially with the Thieves.”

“Psh, who cares about the Thieves anymore? This was definitely just some attempt to stay relevant.” 

Akira’s expression doesn’t help answer any of Akechi’s mental musings regarding the public’s sudden disregard of the Thieves, so he has to come up with his own answers. Akira had mentioned that the reason why the Thieves had literally disappeared from the real world was due to the general public forgetting about them. Did it start this early on after the calling card, or was it right before the final fight? Akechi will have to ask Akira later, unless he lets that loose during whatever little discussion they’re about to have with the Thieves.

As they step into Leblanc, Akechi quickly realizes whatever orders Sae-san had made in order to stall any investigation hadn’t worked.

“Sojiro? Sojiro?! SOJIRO?!” Sakura-san shouts, ripping herself away from the group. She scrambles around Leblanc, looking behind the counters, under chairs, and even peeking upstairs for Sojiro. The other Thieves look similarly startled by the scene around them. Only Akira’s face rests firm.

“My sister said she was holding off the investigation…” Niijima says, a strange twang in her voice. 

“Don’t worry about it.” Akira says flatly, and the rest of the Thieves turn to him.

“Akira? Whaddya mean?” Sakamoto says, but Akira doesn’t respond. He simply leans back, and opens the door to Leblanc. As if Akira were a stage technician beckoning an actor on stage, Sojiro-san walks in. 

“You all wanted to know what’s really happening here, right?” Akira says. The Thieves look back and forth at Akira and Sojiro-san, aside from the younger Sakura-san, who runs straight at Sojiro-san.

“What’s the big fuss about? I’m alright, thanks to you guys.” Sojiro-san says with a twinkle in his eye.

“You made us worried!” Sakura-san cries.

“I’m sorry about that, Futaba,” Sojiro-san says, and then looks left and right at the group of Thieves, “Why are you all here? I’d assume after busting such a big crook you’d want to go home and rest.”

“We- We just needed to have a post-Palace conversation. Gather our thoughts about it. That’s all.” Niijima says, and Akira nods in agreement. Sojiro-san seems to understand. 

“I suppose that you’re going to want our help cleaning up the place though, right?” Akira says. Sojiro-san looks a bit surprised.

“I was just about to ask you that. But yes, I’d really appreciate it.”

“We’ll do the best we can, Boss,” Sakamoto says.

After a flurry of cleaning, the Thieves are back around a couple of Leblanc’s tables. That pressuring silence is back from the train. Hell, not even the train. This silence started the moment that him and Akira realized Sakura-san had overheard everything about last time. 

“So… Akechi-kun, what did you mean when you said that?” Okumura-san says nicely. Akechi opens his mouth to talk, but Akira cuts him off. 

“This isn’t the first time we’ve done this.”

“Done… what?” Sakamoto asks, and Akechi has to stop himself from shaking his head. 

“This. All of this. This is the second time we’ve lived through the year of 20XX.” the Thieves all look utterly bemused. 

“You’re just joking, right?” Sakamoto says. Akira shakes his head. Suddenly, Sakura-san sits up boldly.

“Remember what I told you all about that ‘long haired friend’ of Akira’s? And me asking if Akira said anything about being shot by Akechi?” Niijima stares at her, but then has a sudden flash of realization.

“Do you mean that Akechi-kun came here right when Akira moved here because Akechi-kun knew him?” 

“Partially the case,” Akechi interjects, “Considering the situation we were in at the end of the last time around, I thought I was just in a freak continuation of that instead of the year repeating itself.” Akira chuckles, and is met with a dirty look from Akechi.

“Sorry. But yeah, I can see why’d that could be a conclusion you’d come to.”

“What are you two talking about?” Morgana asks. Akira purses his lips.

“Please don’t think I’m crazy,” Akira says, “But Shido isn’t our last target. Far from it.”

“Who is it, then? Who could possibly be worse than Shido?” Takamaki says. Akira’s about to say something, but a look of recognition passes through Morgana’s little kitty face. 

“Mementos. There’s something about Mementos that’s been bothering me.” Morgana says, and Akira nods astutely. 

“Yes. The- the thing at the depths of Mementos is our next target.” Akira’s voice stutters, likely choosing between saying Yaldabaoth’s name, or not. 

“What do you mean, thing? Is it not human?” Kitagawa asks. Akira looks visibly concerned, and he glances over at Akechi.

“I’m pretty sure one of the reasons Akira has tried to not tell you all very much at all is that he doesn’t want this timeline to change too much.”

“Yeah, like the butterfly effect! Y’all know that, right?” Sakura-san says.

“I suppose that would make sense…” Niijima says, “But I’m also curious about what lies at the depths. Unless, of course, it’s not safe for you to tell us.”

“Is it that Yabbydoth guy?” Sakamoto suddenly says.

“Yaldabaoth, Ryuji,” Takamaki says. Akira sighs.

“Yes. And I hope nothing bad happens to you because of you mentioning him.” Akira says, and Sakamoto’s eyes go wide.

“Dude… What are we up against here? Some kind of god?” 

“Pretty much.”

“And he basically has control over you two, right? At least based on what you all said in Hawaii.” Takamaki says.

“He’s certainly trying,” Akechi says, a bit flippantly. They don’t need to know just what him and Akira go through in that malevolent version of the Velvet Room. 

“Now that you mention Hawaii though, didn’t you say something about Maruki there too? What’s he got to do with all of this?” Sakamoto says.

“I can’t believe you guys are believing us on all of this stuff…” Akira says. Akechi’s confused. These are Akira’s frighteningly loyal Phantom Thieves, are they not? 

“It does make a lot of the stranger things that you guys have said make a bit more sense, it’s just-” Niijima starts to stay.

“Akira, you could have told us earlier so we could help!” Takamaki exclaims. 

“Yeah, I don’t think any of us liked being left in the dark about all of this.” Sakamoto adds on. Akira looks a little bit relieved.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t want things to change too much.”

“Akira, I can understand where you’re coming from,” Niijima says, “But it did truly make us worried.”

“Yes, and I’m glad you’re telling us this now,” Kitagawa says.

“Sorry to interrupt, but what was Ryuji-kun saying about Dr. Maruki?” Okumura-san says. Akira draws another breath again.

“Maruki has a Persona.”

“But- how? Does he have the MetaNav or something?” Morgana says.

“And we’ve never seen him in the Metaverse…” Takamaki says.

“Let’s just say his Persona’s a bit different,” Akechi says, “You know your friend Yoshizawa-san?”

“Yeah? What about her?” Sakamoto asks. 

“Thanks to the extra-Metaverse abilities that Maruki has, she currently believes she is Kasumi Yoshizawa, not Sumire.” 

“Extra-Metaverse? Do you mean that his Persona works outside of the Metaverse?” Niijima says. Akechi nods.

“Does this have anything to do with the Palace we saw with Yoshizawa?” Morgana suddenly asks. 

“That’s the start of Maruki’s Palace.” Akira says.

“Wait. But I was under the assumption that Persona users couldn’t have a Palace.” Kitagawa says.

“Sadly, that’s not the only problem he’s going to cause for us.” 

“Does he have the ability to change perception or something?” Niijima says.

“Almost, Makoto. He can rewrite reality entirely. And he will. He’ll make it so your father never died, Kamoshida never did what he did-”

“I wouldn’t have Wakaba’s blood on my hands.” Akechi says grimly. Sakura-san looks over at him, shocked by his sudden boldness.

“So he’d bring Mom back?” she asks. 

“Yep. Morgana also will turn into a human as well.” Akira says, and then shudders.

“I had almost forgotten that.” Akechi says through a grimace. 

“What? Was I not the most handsome individual you had ever laid eyes on?” Morgana says haughtily.

“No- Just. It was uncomfortable waking up to someone I didn’t recognize in my bed.” Akira says. 

“Oh.” Morgana says. 

“So, to get back on track,” Niijima says, “We’re descending into the depths of Mementos next, correct? At least, based on what happened to Akira.” 

“Yes. But, I think I need to warn you about what exactly is coming next.”


End file.
